260333 - Old African Boa Mask - Congo

Congo : Old African Boa mask

Size are 28 cm high.

Hand carved from a single piece mid. 20th century with certificate of authenticity.

A classic boa mask with oval eyes, a large mouth, and ring-shaped ears. This type of mask was worn as a war mask by a witch doctor to frighten the troops and send them packing. After the pacification of the area, this mask was used to discipline children as a kind of bogeyman. The wooden mask is in good condition.

Provenance: Former private collection from Germany.

Boa District, Democratic Republic of the Congo located near the congo river.

The Boa people (singular Boa, also Ababua, Ababwa, Babua, Babwa, Bwa) are an ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They speak the Bwa language

The Boa live in the savanna region in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are in close contact with the Mangbetu and Zande peoples. Most of the inhabitants of the Bas-Uele District, with a population of 900,000 in 2007, are Boa. They live mainly through subsistence farming and hunting, with some river commerce.

The Boa are known for their masks, which are thought to be used to enhance a warrior's courage before battle and in ceremonies to celebrate victories. The Boa carve statues designed to ward off evil. They also make harps where the neck has a carved human head, or the whole body represents a male or female figure. Between 1903 and 1910 the Boa were in rebellion against the Belgian colonial occupiers of the region.