African art and history of the Punu tribe
Gabon
(Apono, Bapunu, Mpaongwe)
Paul Du Chaillu, who was an American traveller of French desent was the first to reveal the existence of the Punu tribe, people he referred to as the "Aponos", in 1868. Paul spent his teenage years in Gabon around Libreville where his father managed a trading post.
The Punu belong to a large bantu family, and their nickname, punyi, means both 'brave warriors' and 'highwaymen'. They have even been refered to as 'the Fang of the south' by some white colonists. They are the biggest ethnic group of Southern Gabon and occupy most of the four districts of mouila, Ndende, Moabi and Tchibanga.
The Punu group has some interesting taboo's, including the flesh of dogs, cats and snails. It is not customary for Punu woman to eat the flesh of an animal that they are familiar with such as hens, goats, civets, screech owls and foxes, or valuable animals liek roosters, drakes and sheep. They cannot eat snakes, either, because it is believed that a woman who eats the flesh of a snake could become wicked and therefore, behaving like a man, she might fail in her duty as a mother and neglect the education of her children.
Punu Women ~ The Punu family is matrilineal but patrilocal, meaning, when a father dies, the children go back to the family of the mother, which would be headed by their mother's brother, their uncle. they believe that descent goes throught he woman and not the man, so the birth of a girl is enthusiastically embraced. Punu women wear very elaborate coiffures, and it is a normal sight to see Punu women sitting around plaiting each others hair. They would first coat the hair with palm oil to make it more manageable, then it would be tied into long parallel ridges, with sharp partings at the intersections. This process of arranging and styling the hair could take several days to do, but once complete, it could last for two to three months. The women are grouped into societies, mainly the ndjembe or nzembe society. Its initiation ceremony took place in the bush, where the girls of similar age were dressed in leaves and placed in an isolated hut. As with all secret initiations, they would have to undergo physical ordeals such as the burning sensation of an irritating sap squirted into their eyes. The whole initiation would be orchestrated by a woman in wite cloths carrying a wooden sword, this right woul dhave been passed down to her bu her mother, and she would be assume the role of "mother of the ndjembe". These initiation ceremonies were obviously bound to secrecy.
Punu Men ~ The Punu men were largely traders, and according to oral tradition, they were very involved in slave trade. The slaves the they held or traded were normally one of two things, prisoners of war, or offenders (adulterers, murderers, people who had failed to pay their ritual fines etc.) theat were sentenced by the secret societires of cheifs. Until the later part of the 17th century, the Punu monopolized the trade in salt, slaves and imported Eurpoean products with traders that worked with ethnic groups from the interior. This active role in the slave trade by Punu chiefs enabled them to become rich by selling to European slave traders, as well as expanding their population by buying captives for themselves. Some slaves, particularly women, were directly integrated into the masters clan along with their children.
Worship ~ Historically, most ethnic groups in Gabon were ruled by fear, fear of evil spirits. For these people, events like illness and death were not natural, it was believed that it was caused deliberately by someone. The Punu believe that they carry the protection of their ancestors, called mânes, and so during their ancestor cult rituals, they would pay respects and make a point of honoring them. Matengu spirits were disruptive spirits that bothered the Punu by disturbing their rest and making their life unbearable, and it was belived that these sprits would have to be appeased with the performance of special rites. Punu preists, known as nganga, were renowned for thei experience with the supernatural. They were feared notables of the people, often considered 'fetishists' or 'witch doctors', and often incorporated ancestor skulls, certain plants, animals blood and flesh into his rites. The nganga would cure illness by driving away evil spirits and offering protection to those who call ed on him for assistance by givin gthem the appropriate talismans or 'fetishes' in exchange for money or gifts. It was normal to have a fire kept buring all night in Punu villages under a little shelter in front of protective fetishes or ancestor figures. Ancestors, or muhulu, the source of life for the group were well honored, and important family ancestors, such as chiefs, nganga initiates, famous warriors, old women who had borne many children, parents of twins etc, became useful ancestors as long as certain rites were correctly and regularly performed. If ancestors were improperly treated or neglected, it was believed they would become spiteful and vindictive ghosts, known as binyunyi. Like their neighbors, the Fang and the Tsogo the Punu practiced their ancestral worship by keeping relics such as skull fragments or bones in baskets (known as dibumba by the Punu) and sometimes topped them with wooden carved and decorated figures.
The Punu live on the left bank of the Upper Ngoume River, belonging to a group of tribes collectively refered to as the Shira which were originally part of the Luango kingdom of Angola. They live independantly in villages where they are divided in clans and families, and social cohesion is ensured by a society known as Moukouji, whose primiary role is the subjugation of the harmful forest spirits. During ceremonies and rituals relating to this cult, often funeral ceremonies, white pigmented masks and statues are used, the white alluding to the anti-witchcraft functions. The dancers wearing the masks, okuyi, would stand on stilts, concealed under fiber costumes, and performed acrobatic feats. The white color is genderless: it symbolizes the afterlife and the spirits of the dead.
The masks have realistic, usually white, faces with protruding eyes incised with a curve, high domed foreheads, T-shaped noses, globular protruding forehaeds and characteristic ridged high coiffures, which reflect the Punu women's style. Some Punu masks have raised scarification marks along the temples which could possibly be associated to a female ancestor.
The first noted sighting of a Punu Okuyi or 'white mask' was by european Paul Du Chaillu in June of 1865 in the Punu village of Mokaba. He noted that the Punu 'drank as much as they pleased, dancing, beating a drunm and shouting through the night' in their entertainment. He also noted of a masquerader wearing a large piece of wood, carved like a giant, adorned with cloth and walking on stilts with a face covering of a white mask with thick lips parted to show two rows of teeth.
Some of the first recognised owners of Punu masks were both Matisse and Picasso who had Punu masks in their collections in the early twentieth cenury.
Punu carvers carve statues, amulets and everyday objects showing faces similar to those found in the masking. They are believed to be either prestigious items or as was the case with some statuary and amulets, were used in magical ceremonies.
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