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Home > African Masks > Mende Masks
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 Bundu Masks - This black helmet mask is worn exclusively by women. The
mask presents an ideal of feminine beauty admired by the Mende:
elaborate hairstyle, full forehead and small facial features. The
gleaming surface signifies healthy, glowing skin. The swelling fleshy
rolls alternating with deep incised lines at the neck or back of the
head are considered marks of beauty and a promise of fecundity. The
neck is broad to fit over the head of the woman who will wear it.
Sande officials commission male carvers to produce the mask in secret.
The surface is smoothed with the rough leaves of the ficus tree, then
dyed black with a concoction made of leaves. Before use, it is anointed with palm oil to make it shine.
The
Sande society is exclusively a woman's society responsible for the
initiation of young girls into womanhood and instructing them on the
duties they will be responsible for as wives and members of the adult
tribal Community. The authority of the Sande society gets it power and
influence from hale, the magic the women control and resides in the Sowei / Bundu mask.
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