African Art Artifacts: PUNU MASK

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PUNU MASK Carved in Wood The PUNU reside on the left bank of the Upper Ngoume River and belong to a group of tribes known as Shira which were originally part of the Luango kingdom of Angola. With the Eshira, the Lumbo, the Vili, the Galoa and the Vugu people, the PUNU migrated northwards during the 18th century and settled w they are now. They live in independent villages divided into clans and families and social cohesion is ensured by a society, known as Moukouji, whose primary role is to subjugate harmful forest spririts. During ceremonies related to the society, small statues and masks appear which are often covered in white pigments, alluding to their antiwitchcraft functions. PUNU masks are thought to represent ancestor's faces. They are worn during funerals and by a Moukouji initiate who stands in stilts. The masks have realistic faces with protruding pursed lips, T-shaped noses, globular protruding eyes incised with a curve, high-domed foreheads and characteristic ridged high coiffures which reflects the PUNU women's style. Some PUNU masks have raised lozenge scarifications on the temples which are thought to be associated either with a female ancestor, or with a southern sub-group of the PUNU tribe. Black masks have exactly the same stylistic characteristics as the white masks, but they are believed to have judiciary read more

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