Chokwe Congo Mwana Pwo (Young Girl) Wooden Mask with four-pointed cosmogram symbol on forehead

THIS IS A CLASSIC CHOKWE CONGOLESE MWANA PWO (YOUNG GIRLS) MASK. CHOKWE MASKS REPRESENT FAMOUS FEMALE ANCESTORS AND ARE MASQUERADES BY MALE DANCERS AT INITIATION CEREMONIES.
 
With characteristic sunken, concave eye sockets painted with white and red koalin; large coffee-bean or almond shaped eyes that are partially closed; elongated, slender noses; curved ears; flattened, protruding lips. This mask has an elaborate, braided coiffure and carved facial patterns indicative of scarification marks or tattoos that is thought to aesthetically enhanced a woman's beauty in past generations and were signs of ethnic identity.
 
THE FOREHEAD OF THIS MASK IS INSCRIBED WITH THE FOUR-POINTED DIKENGA SYMBOL, THE KONGO CULTURES COSMOGRAM, OR SIGN OF THE LIFE CYCLE, ON WHICH THE LAYOUT OF THIS GALLERY IS BASED. The pervasive use of the dikenga among the Chokwe and neighboring groups in Angola, as well as other cultures in the Congo and Gabon, illustrates the deeply rooted meaning of this eloquent symbol over a wide region.
 
THE MARKINGS ON EITHER CHEEK ARE DESCRIBED AS A SOLAR DISC JOINED BY TEARS AND REPRESENTS THE TEARS OF CHOKWE MOTHERS IN THE INITIATION CEREMONIES OF THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS. That occasion also marks the dissolution of the bonds of intimacy between mothers and their sons. The pride and sorrow that event represents for Chokwe women is alluded to by the tear motif.
 
Among the Chokwe and related peoples of Angola, the masks appearance and its performance convey ideals regarding feminine beauty and behavior.The image of a Mwana Pwo also appears on the Congolese 50 franc bill.
 
SIZE WOODEN FRAME 19CM WIDE 26CM HIGH 10CM DEEP
WOODEN FRAME WITH HAIRDO 27CM WIDE 28CM HIGH 21CM DEEP
 
CONDITION: IN GOOD CONDITION.
 
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