Salampasu Mask, Zaire #913

Salampasu Mask, Zaire #913Salampasu Mask, Zaire #913 A Salampasu face mask, Zaire, with an elongated raffia goatee and a raffia headdress, painted ochre surface, white pigmented teeth and a natural blackened nose and eyebrows. Measurements: 49cm Condition: Good. The Salampasu People live in the province of Kasa Oriental in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Throughout their history, they have resisted domination by neighbouring Luba, Chokwe and Lunda peoples, but in the end

• Salampasu Mask, Zaire #913
• A Salampasu face mask, Zaire, with an elongated raffia goatee and a raffia headdress, painted ochre surface, white pigmented teeth and a natural blackened nose and eyebrows.
• Measurements: 49cm
• Condition: Good.

• The Salampasu People live in the province of Kasaï-Oriental in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Throughout their history, they have resisted domination by neighbouring Luba, Chokwe and Lunda peoples, but in the end they had to defer to the rule of the Belgian colonial authorities.

   

• Salampasu Villages are governed by a few High-Ranking Chiefs, who are, in turn, assisted by Territorial Chiefs, who supervise Village Chiefs. This hierarchical power structure is counter-balanced by a Warrior's Society. 

• Three mask types representing Grades of Male Society - Hunters, Warriors, and Chiefs - are used by the Salampasu in Initiation and other Rituals. Common traits are woven vegetable fiber bells attached to the chin and/or top of the head, bulging forehead, deeply set slanted eyes, triangular nose, and rectangular mouth displaying filed teeth. Masks would likely have been used for Initiation Ceremonies related to the Warrior's Society.  The Warriors also organize events featuring special Masks that belong to Elderly Warriors, who are also their Custodians. It is they who give young men permission to dance with the Masks.

   

• Salampasu Masks have a highly distinctive appearance: a large, rounded forehead, a broad, flat nose, deep-set eyes and an open mouth with filed teeth. There is also great variation in the way the faces are painted or covered in metal. The result is a dramatic, even aggressive expression designed to bring the Warrior Ancestors back to life.