A «Mwana Pwo» Mask

A «Mwana Pwo» Mask
wood, fibers and metal
it has copper rings in both ears, with a religious medal on the left one, a mask representing the ideal of female beauty, used by professional dancers in various types of ceremonies
Angolan - Tshokwe
minor defects
20th C. (3rd quarter). Sculpted by Samuentacuta Utende, Lóvua post, Chitato municipality, Lunda-Norte province, in 1963
Dimensões (altura x comprimento x largura) - 22 cm
Notes: Provenance: Collection of Engineer Elísio Romariz dos Santos Silva Fig. 6 in the notes printed "A Escultura Tribal dos Povos Banto" updated version, from 1995, of the work entitled "A Escultura Negro-Africana Vista à Luz da Filosofia Banta", which the author presented in 1971, for the XXII Floral Games of the Huambo Town Hall (former Nova Lisboa) - Angola, p. 13. Original work available at http://memoria-africa.ua.pt/Library/ShowImage.aspx?q=/bchuambo/bchuambo-026&p=10, accessed March 16, 2023 at 11:16.
Item number 2, mentioned in the collector's notebook «Angola - Arte Negra, Relação e descrição das peças», identified in it as  «Máscara Muana Puo (Jovem)»:"Tattoos: - on the forehead: «Txíngelengele» or «Samanana», a cruciform sign that must be or was a symbol of the Tshokwe people, who still bear it in all manifestations of art; - on the nose: «Cangongo» (small bush mouse, with thin fur, considered a delicacy) - this tattoo serves, in part, to differentiate the Tshokwe from the other peoples of Lunda; - on the chin, cheeks and corners of the eyes: «Mipila» which means traces [...]. Copper rings on the ears («Txijingu»), with a religious aluminum medal on the left one. [...] The masked man's suit is made of mesh and has fake breasts, usually made from gourds. Over the costume they wear a kind of skirt in fabrics of feminine taste and a thick dance belt (muia) applied over the hips, decorated with beads and bells, a belt that is exclusive to women, with the purpose of highlighting the lively movement. from the hips. The choreography of the masked man, who is a professional dancer, is characterized by mime, gestures and woman's steps, in which the voluptuous movement of the hips predominates. In addition to representing Woman, the feminine genius of dance, grace and beauty, it can also represent a spell (Wanga) «Kaponya Ka Pwó» [...] of terrible effects. When a «Mukixi Wa Pwó» dancer dies, the mask should normally disappear with him. Therefore, the heir by matrilineal descent, the nephew, the eldest son of the eldest sister residing in the village (here the avunculocal rule is observed), must take the mask and the garment, wrap them in cloth and leaves, take them to a secluded spot in the forest, usually close to a river bank, dig a deep hole and bury them carefully. When he deposits the mask at the bottom of the hole and starts to pour earth over it to cover it, he utters the following words: “Go and stay with my uncle, whose companion you are. He was a great dancer thanks to you and that's why you should accompany him. I'm going to make another mask to continue my uncle's work, which will certainly help me to be as good as he was»). [...] Mask sculpted by Samuentacuta Utende, relative of Soba Tchissessengue, Posto de Lóvua, municipality of Chitato, Lunda, in 1963. Purchased on the advice of its sculptor, an artist of great fame, who also worked for commissions for the Museum of Dundo, in June 1965, when I visited this Museum [...]."
Cf. bibliography referred to by the collector: LIMA, Mesquitela de - "Os Akixi (Mascarados) do Nordeste de Angola". In "Diamag - Publicações Culturais nº 70". Lisboa: Companhia de Diamantes de Angola - Serviços Culturais Dundo - Lunda - Angola - Museu do Dundo, 1967, p. 150; and LIMA, Mesquitela de - "Tatuagens da Lunda". S/L: Museu de Angola, 1956, (possibly) pp. 40 and 42-43, figs. 42 and 45. A «muia» is essentially an exterior belt - cf. SANTOS, Eduardo dos - "Sobre a «Medicina» e a Magia dos Quiocos". In "Estudos, Ensaios e Documentos nº 80". Lisboa: Junta de Investigações do Ultramar, 1960, p. 68.

For the same type of mask vd. REDINHA, José - "Album Etnográfico Portugal-Angola". Luanda: C.I.T.A, 1971, p. 91 (as "Muana-Mpuo"); JORDÁN, Manuel - "Os Tshokwe e Povos Aparentados". In "Na presença dos Espíritos - Arte Africana do Museu Nacional de Etnologia, Lisboa". New York: Museum for African Art, Snoeck-Ducaju, 2000, pp. 100-102, cat. 73-75; BASTIN, Marie-Louise. "La sculpture Tshokwe”. Arcueil: Alain et Françoise Chaffin, 1982, pp. 100-103, figs. 40-45 (as "Masque Pwo"/"Pwo"); The catalog "Escultura Angolana - Memorial de Culturas". Lisboa: Museu Nacional de Etnologia - Sociedade Lisboa 94, 1994, pp. 143-144, nº 162-164; LIMA, Mesquitela de - "Os Akixi (Mascarados) do Nordeste de Angola". Lisboa: Companhia de Diamantes de Angola - Serviços Culturais Dundo - Lunda - Angola - Museu do Dundo, 1967, pp. 151 and 153, nºs 11-15 (as "Mukixi wa Pwó"); FELIX, Marc Leo. - "100 Peoples of Zaire and Their Sculpture: The Handbook”. Brussels: Zaire Basin Art History Research Foundation, 1987, p. 183, fig. 15; the auction
catalogue held on February 1, 2023 at Lempertz "Art of Arfrica, the Pacific and the Americas". Brussels: Lempertz, 2023, lote 42; and https://www.metmuseum.org/art/ collection/search/319264?ft=Pwo&offset=0&amp ;rpp=40&pos=1, consulted on March 14, 2023 at 15:37