Mask, Yaka; D.R.C. Congo
Wood, pigment; H. 12"
This object is the wooden facial portion
of a Yaka mask that was once attached to a constructed
coiffure and surrounded by a collar of raffia fiber.
This, as well as other varieties of both wood and
fiber mask, were–and continue to be–used
in association with coming-to-manhood and circumcision
rites known as Nkhanda that impose rigid
discipline on adolescent males and teach respect
for elders, endurance, and mores of behavior in
adult society. The nose, as in this example, is
a greatly elongated appendage that points or encircles
upward in a generalized reference to male solidarity
and sexuality.
