A fine Mende Bundu helmet mask
Sande, also known as zadεgi, bundu, bundo and bondo, is a women's initiation society in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast. The Sande society initiates girls into adulthood by rituals including female genital mutilation. [1] Video \(\PageIndex{1}\): Helmet Mask for Sande Society (Ndoli Jowei), Mende peoples, Nguabu Master (Moyamba district, Sierra Leone), late 19th-early 20th century, wood and pigment, 39.4 x 23.5 x 26 cm (Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York)The Mende initiation rite for young women is the only known masquerade tradition where the mask-wearers are female. The mask's glossy black patina evokes the beauty of clean, healthy, oiled skin. It may also refer to the blackness of the river bottom, where the Sande spirit is believed to reside. In this interpretation, the ringed neck may refer to the circular ripples of water that are formed as the Sande spirit emerges from her watery realm. Title: Helmet Mask (Bundu) Date: 19th-20th century Geography: Sierra Leone Culture: Mende peoples Medium: Wood, metal, pigment Dimensions: H. 15 15/16 x W. 8 3/16in. (40.5 x 20.8cm) Classification: Wood-Sculpture Credit Line: Gift of Alvin Abrams, 1977 Accession Number: 1977.461 Learn more about this artwork
West African Sande Society Bundu mask Sep 15, 2018 Clars Auction
Description Sowei mask (a) and raffia fringe (b). Carved wooden helmet mask, janus-faced and stained black. The mask has small facial features and the hairstyle is represented by geometric carved patterns. Two large amulets are carved into each side of the head. The mask is surmounted by a representation of a European-style top hat. Bundu or Sowei Helmet Mask (Ndoli Jowei), Mende, Nguabu Master (Moyamba district, Sierra Leone), late 19th-early 20th century, wood and pigment, 39.4 x 23.5. BUNDU 'Sowei' MASK This wooden mask is associated with a secret women's society which exists in parts of West Africa, particularly in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It is worn with a black raffia costume, at important public events such as the visit of an important dignitary or the coronation or funeral of an important chief. Bundu mask. Sande Society, Mende peoples (West African forests of Sierra Leone and Liberia). 19th to 20th century C.E. Wood, cloth, and fiber. G14, 1075 S5, 888 SH. The mask and its wearer offered a model of ideal behavior for new members to emulate and a demonstration of
This mask represents the spirit of fecundity and is considered the incarnation of the female waters. The masks always have female characteristics, even when they incarnate the male ancestral spirit. These masks were vetted by Daniel Mato, author (with Charles Miller III) of Sande, masks and statues from Liberia and Sierra-Leone. Condition reports are on each individual page. Bundu (or Sande), a women's association, is almost unique in Africa in that it controls the use of these masks, which embody Sowo, their guardian spirit. Bundu Helmet Mask. Artist/Maker. Mende Artist, Sierra Leone. Date. Late nineteenth-early twentieth century. Medium. Wood and metal. Dimensions. Contact the museum for more information. Credit. Gift of Dr. Milton Mazo and Billy K. Poole in honor of Carol Thompson, Fred and Rita Richman Family Curator of African Art Carved wooden helmet mask used by the exclusively female Sande (Mende) or Bondo/Bundu (Temne) societies. The mask is traditionally worn by a high-ranking member of the society, the dancing sowei, known as the 'ndoli jowei' among the Mende or 'a-Nowo' among the Temne. Worn with a raffia costume, the masks typically have a polished black finish.
By convention, masks of the Sande Society of the Mende are called Bundu. The Sande Society dedicates women to the learning of beauty, social usefulness and moral self-realization. This mask, an old and well-worn example, illustrates in its form and iconography what girls in Sande are taught in words i.e. to maintain youthful gracefulness. Bundu mask AP Art History 250 Home 1. Apollo 11 stones 2. Great Hall of Bulls 3. Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine 4. Running horned woman 5. Bushel with ibex motifs 6. Anthropomorphic stele 7. Jade Cong 8. Stonehenge 9. Ambum Stone 10. Tlatilco female figurine 11. Terra cotta fragment 12. White Temple and its ziggurat 13.
