241018 - Old Rare African Suku Yaka mask - Congo.
Old African Suku Yaka mask from Congo
Dimensions: 32 cm.
Very nice Yaka Suku mask carved from wood
From a Belgian private collection. Tabala.
Mr. Tabala is a passionate collector of African art who collected these objects between 1983 and the nineties. He traveled to many regions of Congo and Tanzania.
This extraordinary mask was used by Yaka and Suku peoples of south-western Congo in the end of the first half of the 20th century. Both cultures share an institution called mukanda, which is concerned with the circumcision and initiation of young men. Kakungu, the 'red giant', played an important role during this male initiation. The Yaka and Suku consider kakungu as their oldest and most powerful mask.
The basic painted colors are red. Made of a soft wood called mungela (alstonia congensis or ricinodendron), the mask generally was worn surrounded by a full-length fringe of palm leaf stripes called futi or kindua. Kakungu masks were exclusively owned and worn by the charm specialist of the initiation camp called isidika (or kisidika among the Suku), as one of the many tools employed by him to ensure the well-being of the boys during this transitory period in their life. Kakungu performers also wore a specific outfit, the ndaka zi kakungu, made from pieces of antelope skin along with various objects such as bells and cut pieces of gourd; and consecrated the mask through the sacrifice of a goat. A kakungu mask was considered well made when it could instill fear in people at first glance, whether it was seen from afar or close.