|
Anthropomorphic
Masks with Heart-Shaped Faces
The Kwele
anthropomorphic masks that Siroto (1995) considered beautiful
are more or less circular and fairly small, usually about 30 cm
in diameter. A typical example is flat with a concave face surrounded
by a sort of collar or bevel, and the whole is treated in a stylized,
faceted, geometric manner with opposing curves and ridges. The
heart-shaped facial area is whitened and is animated by elongated,
slit, almond-shaped eyes that form two elegant, slightly raised
crescents linked at the bridge of the nose, which is itself flat
and triangular. When it is depicted, the mouth often has small
pointed teeth and is placed on the lower edge of the bevel. The
forehead and the beveled area surrounding the face are always
blackened by a red-hot machete blade. The white color probably
symbolizes both the ethereal and ghostly nature of the mask (a
spirit which has returned from the realm of the dead to help the
living) and the ekuk's clairvoyance in matters of witchcraft.
It therefore differs from the dark-colored masks, like the gong,
which have a negative, threatening symbolism.
According
to documentation at the Musée de l'Homme, in Paris, compiled
from notes by Aristide Courtois in the 1930s, this type of circular
mask was called pipibudze, that is, "boy" or "man"
in opposition to female and animal spirits.
Some of these
masks have eyes that are carved through and others do not. The
mask sculpted with two faces, now in the Musée National
des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie (MNAAO) in Paris (fig.3,
right), was brought to Europe by Governor Antonietti before the
Second World War from northwest of Sembé, where the Kwele
and Njabi live. It was made to be hung rather than worn, probably
in a hut used for the beete cult.
Many
pipibudze masks have dotted scar patterns on the brow, nose, and
cheeks. In the overall design of the mask, the dark edge surrounding
the heart-shaped face is a direct reference to the "encircling
horns" of the antelope-type animal masks discussed below.
The pipibudze
masks show perfect mastery of the art of stylization. Though they
appear simple, their form is one of remarkable refinement, with
each specimen showing variations on the overall design: the mask
may lean toward a circular or shield shape; the face may be more
or less hollowed; and the eyes may be anchored to the bridge of
the nose or barely touching. The crescent slits of the latter
vary in their width, slant, and angle in relation to the central
axis of the sculpture. The thickness of the block of wood may
or may not be accentuated, and so on. One of the most beautiful
specimens of this type is the well-known mask that once belonged
to Tristan Tzara, first exhibited in Paris in 1930 (fig.1, left).
|
