Mask - Gabon (No reserve price)

Always Gorilla Mask - Kwele / Bakwele - Gabon Among the Bakwele, the village's internal cohesion depended on the prestige and authority of its founder and on the ability of its peacemaker. To strengthen it, they borrowed from the Ngwyes the cult of the beete. This ritual, which lasted an entire week, began with the departure into the forest of the able-bodied men to hunt the antelope, whose meat, accompanied by medicinal substances, would be eaten at the ceremonial closing meal... The Ekuk masks that result from this are the best known. After this departure, after one or two days, the Ekuk masks would come out of the forest and enter the village, inviting dance and song. Ekuk means both "spirit of the forest" and "children of beete". This mask is supposed to represent the antelope

Estimate:$1.12

View all items fromCatawikiorEthnographic