The Bushong Kuba are responsible for some of the most beautiful and sophisticated masquerade or dance traditions in Africa.
The Bushong Kuba are responsible for some of the most beautiful and sophisticated masquerade or dance traditions in Africa.
Origin stories for some Kuba masking traditions describe how the mask's creators first encountered a ngesh in the forest and, after a period of disorientation, returns home to carve a likeness of the ngesh. While ngesh are rarely represented by figurative sculpture, they are thought to be personified in masquerade figures, which are in turn empowered by these nature spirits.
The potential for masked performers to become aggressive is a fundamental part of Kuba masquerade, and it is a reflection of the influence of the unpredictable nature of ngesh on Kuba masked dancers. The association between ngesh and masquerade is also underscored by strict rules that forbid spectators from touching the masks or coming too close to a masked dancer. [1]
Kuba initiation rites for boys and young men and associated masquerade figures are related to mukanda initiation rites, practiced by many peoples residing in the southern savanna of Central Africa from Angola, through the Democratic Republic of Congo and into western London, including Chokwe, Lwena, Luvale, Lwembe, Chesterfield, Mbunda, Mbwela, Yaka, Suku, Pende, and southern Lunda.
There are two forms of initiation that occur in the Kuba region. One form, called babande, is practiced in many Ngeende, Ngongo, Mbeengi, Bokila, Shoowa and Bushoong villages in the central and northern Kuba region. Babanede initiation rites take place within the village proper, and sometimes within the walled compound of the village chief. By contrast, southern initiation practices must take place outside the community in a secret forest location. Southern Kuba initiation rites are called buadi in Northern Kete villages and nkaan in Southern Bushoong villages. Both of these words translate to "secret," underscoring the unseen dimension of the rite.
Initiation rituals at the Kuba capital of Nshern were suspended during the late nineteenth century and were not reinstated. Due in part to the absence of these rituals, discussions of Kuba masking traditions at Nsheng has centered on three masking traditions described as royal: Mwaash aMbooy mu shall, Bwoom and Ngady mwaash. These are interpreted as representing the king, the commoner and the wife of Mwaash aMbooy, respectively. [2]
There are more than twenty different types of masks that function within the men's initiation society. Mwaash aMbooy mu shall is one of the three most important and represents Woot, the founding hero from whom the Kuba believe themselves to be descended. Mwaash aMbooy mu shall masks are worn by the nyimi, or king, of the Kuba or by chiefs in villages. The nyimi's mask is usually made of leopard skin, while those of chiefs are made of antelope skin. [2]
One of the principal Kuba dance masks is called pwoom itok. The chief identifying characteristic is the shape of the eyes, whose centers are cones surrounded by holes through which the wearer sees. Like many Kuba types of masks, pwoom itok is extensively polychromed, or multicolored. [3]
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, as well as in the performing arts and for entertainment. They are usually worn on the face, although they may also be positioned for effect elsewhere on the wearer's body.
The Dogon are an ethnic group indigenous to the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa, south of the Niger bend, near the city of Bandiagara, and in Burkina Faso. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000. They speak the Dogon languages, which are considered to constitute an independent branch of the Niger–Congo language family, meaning that they are not closely related to any other languages.
African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas, such as: African American, Caribbean or art in South American societies inspired by African traditions. Despite this diversity, there are unifying artistic themes present when considering the totality of the visual culture from the continent of Africa.
Egungun, in the broadest sense is any Yoruba masquerade or masked, costumed figure. More specifically, it is a Yoruba masquerade for ancestor reverence, or the ancestors themselves as a collective force. Eégún is the reduced form of the word egúngún and has the same meaning. [Rowlands, E.C. (1973-01-01). "Yoruba (Teach Yourself Books", chapter 7, page 39] There is a misconception that Egun or Eegun is the singular form, or that it represents the ancestors while egúngún is the masquerade or the plural form. This misconception is common in the Americas by Orisa devotees that do not speak Yorùbá language as a vernacular. "Egungun is a visible manifestation of the spirits of departed ancestors who periodically revisit the human community for remembrance, celebration, and blessings."
Abakuá, also sometimes known as Ñañiguismo, is an Afro-Cuban men's initiatory fraternity or secret society, which originated from fraternal associations in the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon.
The Dan are a Mande ethnic group from northwestern Ivory Coast and neighboring Liberia. There are approximately 700,000 members of the group and their largest settlement is Man, Ivory Coast. Neighboring peoples include the Krahn, Kpelle and Mano. They are officially known as Yacouba in Ivory Coast. In Liberia, they are also known as Gio, which is considered a derogatory exonym.
The Kuba Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Bakuba or Bushongo, is a traditional kingdom in Central Africa. The Kuba Kingdom flourished between the 17th and 19th centuries in the region bordered by the Sankuru, Lulua, and Kasai rivers in the heart of the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Traditional African masks play an important role in certain traditional African rituals and ceremonies.
Most African sculpture was historically in wood and other organic materials that have not survived from earlier than at most a few centuries ago; older pottery figures are found from a number of areas. Masks are important elements in the art of many peoples, along with human figures, often highly stylized. There is a vast variety of styles, often varying within the same context of origin depending on the use of the object, but wide regional trends are apparent; sculpture is most common among "groups of settled cultivators in the areas drained by the Niger and Congo rivers" in West Africa. Direct images of African deities are relatively infrequent, but masks in particular are or were often made for traditional African religious ceremonies; today many are made for tourists as "airport art". African masks were an influence on European Modernist art, which was inspired by their lack of concern for naturalistic depiction.
Igbo art is any piece of visual art originating from the Igbo people. The Igbo produce a wide variety of art including traditional figures, masks, artifacts and textiles, plus works in metals such as bronze. Artworks from the Igbo have been found from as early as 9th century with the bronze artifacts found at Igbo Ukwu. With processes of colonialism and the opening of Nigeria to Western influences, the vocabulary of fine art and art history came to interact with established traditions. Therefore, the term can also refer to contemporary works of art produced in response to global demands and interactions.
The Balanta are an ethnic group found in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Senegal and The Gambia. They are the largest ethnic group of Guinea-Bissau, representing more than one-quarter of the population. Despite their numbers, they have remained outside the colonial and postcolonial state because of their social organisation. The Balanta can be divided into six clans: Nhacra, Ganja (Mane), Naga, Patch, Sofa and Kentohe. The largest of which are the Balanta Kentohe.
The Songye people, sometimes written Songe, are a Bantu ethnic group from the central Democratic Republic of the Congo. They inhabit a vast territory between the Sankuru and Lubilash rivers in the west and the Lualaba River in the east. Many Songye villages can be found in present-day East Kasai province, parts of Katanga and Kivu Province. The people of Songye are divided into thirty-four conglomerate societies; each society is led by a single chief with a Judiciary Council of elders and nobles (bilolo). Smaller kingdoms east of the Lomami River refer to themselves as Songye, other kingdoms in the west, refer to themselves as Kalebwe, Eki, Ilande, Bala, Chofwe, Sanga and Tempa. As a society, the people of Songye are mainly known as a farming community; they do, however, take part in hunting and trading with other neighboring communities.
The Chamba are a significant ethnic group in the north eastern Nigeria. The Chamba are located between present day Nigeria and Cameroon. The closest Chamba neighbours are the Mumuye, the Jukun and Kutep people. In Cameroon, the successors of Leko and chamba speakers are divided into several states: Bali Nyonga, Bali Kumbat, Bali-Gham, Bali-Gangsin, and Bali-Gashu. The are two ethnic groups in Ghana and Togo also called Chamba, but they are ethnically distinct. The Chamba are identified through their own language, beliefs, culture, and art.
Nyau is a secret society of the Chewa, an ethnic group of the Bantu peoples from Central and Southern Africa. The Nyau society consists of initiated members of the Chewa and Nyanja people, forming the cosmology or indigenous religion of the people. Initiations are separate for men and for women, with different knowledge learned and with different ritual roles in the society according to gender and seniority. Only initiates are considered to be mature and members of the Nyau.
The Simo society is a secret society in West Africa also described as a "masked cult". It hails, according to a UNESCO report, from among either the Temne people or the Baga people at the time of the Mali Empire. The Susu people's political organization "assigned an important role to the Simo initiation society", and it "dominated" the organization of the Baga and the Landuma people.
Kuba art comprises a diverse array of media, much of which was created for the courts of chiefs and kings of the Kuba Kingdom. Such work often featured decorations, incorporating cowrie shells and animal skins as symbols of wealth, prestige and power. Masks are also important to the Kuba. They are used both in the rituals of the court and in the initiation of boys into adulthood, as well as at funerals. The Kuba produce embroidered raffia textiles which in the past was made for adornment, woven currency, or as tributary goods for funerals and other seminal occasions. The wealth and power of the court system allowed the Kuba to develop a class of professional artisans who worked primarily for the courts but also produced objects of high quality for other individuals of high status.
Ndop were figurative sculptures representing different kings (nyim) of the Kuba kingdom.
Kuba textiles are unique in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, for their elaboration and complexity of design and surface decoration. Most textiles are a variation on rectangular or square pieces of woven palm leaf fiber enhanced by geometric designs executed in linear embroidery and other stitches, which are cut to form pile surfaces resembling velvet. Women are responsible for transforming raffia cloth into various forms of textiles, including ceremonial skirts, ‘velvet’ tribute cloths, headdresses and basketry.
In the Kuba region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the belief in nature spirits, called ngesh or mingeh, is widespread. Ngesh are believed to possess human characteristics, live near water sources in forests or villages, and may be encountered at any time. Community residents know the name of local ngesh and their offspring. Ngesh impose themselves on various human affairs, including the control of harvest and the fertility of women.
Public masquerades play an extremely significant role in the life of the Mende people - one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone.