Face Mask, Hemba Peoples, D.R. Congo

Hemba Peoples, Democratic Republic of the Congo

The artistic characteristic features of the Hemba masks include convex eyelids with narrow slits emerging from shallow sockets beneath arched brows and a thin, sometimes painted nose strongly set off from the face area, with broad, narrow mouth opening, which give them the appearance of grinning. The Hemba (nwisi guw so'o) dancers wear a costume of animal skins and bark cloth dance at memorial ceremonies, reflecting the Hemba ideas of the world of living.

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