While in Santa Fe I came upon this unusual mask created by the Chokwe people in Africa. The original Chokwe name for these masks is Pwo and its purpose is to honor women who have bravely survived childbirth. These masks date from the 19th to early 20th century.
Pwo is one the most popular dancing masks among the Chokwe. Because they follow matrilineal descent, the Chokwe dance pwo to honor the founding female ancestor of the lineage. A male dancer is dressed like a woman in a costume of braided fiber that completely covers his body and hides his identity. He wears a loincloth, carries a fan and moves in slow, precise steps to emulate a woman.
Inscribed motifs on the mask’s forehead and cheeks are classic graphic designs that aesthetically enhanced a woman’s beauty in past generations and were signs of ethnic identity. The central cruciform on the forehead has been interpreted as a cosmogram while the markings on either cheek are tears. Chokwe masks are often performed at the celebrations that mark the completion of initiation into adulthood. That occasion also marks the dissolution of the bonds of intimacy between mothers and their sons. The pride and sorrow that event represents for Chokwe women is alluded to by the tear motif. The major components of the fiber coiffure are a braided headband and a heavy fringe at the rear. Chokwe women typically wore a hairstyle entirely coated with red earth and known as tota.
Original painting, price available upon request
