Mask of Río Congo

Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City.

I saw this interesting mask at the exhibition “Congo River, Arts of Central Africa” that took place at the National Museum of Anthropology, in Mexico City.

Can you see a heart shape in this mask? That form was characteristic in various masks at the exhibition, which belong to the XIX and XX century.

The masks used by African cultures settled along the river Congo refer to ancestral spirits, and they were used for initiation, funeral and fertility rituals accompanied by songs, music and dance.

The white color of the mask represents death.

Daily Promt: Mask