Product Description
Makonde Lipico Helmet Mask, Mozambique
This is a fabulous Old Makonde “Lipiko” Helmet Mask from Southern Tanzania and Northeast Mozambique. The Lipico helmet masks are worn on the top of the head and cover only part of the face. The helmet is worn tipped upward on the head so the dancer can see. The masks sometimes represent ancestral spirits, sometimes animals. The lipiko masks, which in the language of the Makonde people means “helmet mask.
Made of 100% wood.
Model is W 30 – H 32 and weight 1 kg.
Description
This is a fabulous Old Makonde “Lipiko” Helmet Mask from Southern Tanzania and Northeast Mozambique. The Lipico helmet masks are worn on the top of the head and cover only part of the face. The helmet is worn tipped upward on the head so the dancer can see. The masks sometimes represent ancestral spirits, sometimes animals. The lipiko masks, which in the language of the Makonde people means “helmet mask.
The most important carving used in initiation ceremonies was the lipiko (or mapiko) mask, which was worn over the top of the head, tilted back so the wearer could look out through the mouth. The masks sometimes represent ancestral spirits, sometimes animals. The ancestors come back masked in order to express their joy at the successful achievement of initiation. Their presence is proof of the tight bonds that exist between the living and the dead. The Makonde masks may attain great expressiveness. Some are simple in form, with static concave planes; others display an organically sensed rounded style. The naturalism is exaggerated in many masks, with their full lips and receding cranium. The anthropomorphic face masks portray particular individuals or occasionally represent sickness. Design elements frequently include scarification marks, and eyebrows, lashes and coiffure made of real hair affixed with wax. The helmet masks have strong, Negroid features
Inhabiting the southeast of Tanzania and the northeast of Mozambique are about 500,000 Makonde, divided into matrilineal clans, each one comprising several villages. Decisions are made by a chief supported by a council. Clan members meet only for the ancestral cult and to celebrate initiations.
According to legend, shortly after the Creation, the first man, wandering around outside the bush, sculpted a female figure out of wood, and the statue became a real woman who gave him many children and, after her death, became the venerated ancestress of the Makonde. This accounts for the ancestress cult as well as the profusion of sculpted female figures, kept in huts.
Additional information
Weight | 1 kg |
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Dimensions | 30 × 32 cm |
Color | |
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