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PUNU OKUYI SPIRIT MASK
Tribe: Punu
Country: Gabon
Material: Wood, Pigment
Size: 12.5" (32 cm)
Private Collection: Maine, USA
The okuyi or mukuyi mask, originating from the Punu in southwest Gabon, represents and idealized female face. Indicated by the scarification on the face area, consisting of nine dots, and according to some, have a sexual connotation. Another sign of female gender is the coiffure.
The ritual function fulfilled by these masks is normally at funeral ceremonies, when they are danced as embodiments of the spirits of the ancestors. In the masquerade, the dancers, wearing costumes of raffia or cotton fabric and animal pelts, move with amazing agility on stilts up to six and a half feet in height.
*African Masks - Iris Hahner-Herzog, Maria Kecskesi and Laszlo Vajda.
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