African mask

Ethnicity : Bembé 

REF: BMB01

Importation: RDC

Size H28cm L20cm

Weight : 900Gr

Description of bembé

The Bembe people migrated to their eastern Congo settlements near the Tanzania and Burundi borders in the 18th century. These semi-nomadic people often settled in forest environments but tended to abandon their small villages as the soil became less fertile. Their women cultivated crops while the men hunted and fished. Secret societies play an important role in Bembe life where the Bwami society, inspired by the neighboring Lega, exists in simplified form: male members are circumcised and small statuettes or magical objects are handled. The all male Elanda society exercises social control over the tribe with membership accessible only through a substantial initial subscription paid to the society head. The male Alunga society is in charge of public dances and hunting ceremonies. The ‘cult of the ancestor’ is an important part of Bembe social and spiritual life, recalling the history of their respective clans through worship at both private and public shrines that appear as miniature huts, enclosures or tables situated throughout the village or on an ancestors grave. Offerings of food, animal sacrifices and, sometimes, magical stones, horns, or blades are left on the shrines in situ in exchange for the ancestor’s protection.