Old African Mbuya mask from the Pende, Congo.

Hand carved from a single piece of wood with raffia.

Height: 36 cm.

PENDE MBUYA DRC Mask

Mbuya masks are characterized by a rounded forehead, a pointed chin and especially by heavy, drooping eyelids and eyebrow arches that meet at the base of the nose. They represent physical types, functions or social categories such as the Chief, the diviner-healer, the hunter, the warrior, the sick, etc.The Pende people (singular: Mupende; plural: Bapende), also known as the Phende people, are an ethnic group in the south-western Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Pende are divided into two cultural groups: the Eastern Pende and the Western Pende who are distinct but consider themselves part of the same ethnic group. The number of people who consider themselves to be ethnically Pende is estimated at over 250,000.