A «Mwana Pwo» Mask

A «Mwana Pwo» Mask
wood, fibers, cotton, beads and pigments
mask representing the ideal of female beauty, used by professional dancers in various types of ceremonies.
Angolan - Sandando
20th C. (mid)
minor faults and defects
carved by Txiezo Santope of the Sanzala Liangongo (Sandando, Moxico), used in the Sobado of Nhalukatuca of Cassai, Luena, Lunda province
Dimensões (altura x comprimento x largura) - 20 cm
Notes: Provenance: Collection of Engineer Elísio Romariz dos Santos Silva, piece number 58, referred to in the notebook of the collector «Angola - Arte Negra, Relação e descrição das peças», identified in it as «Máscara Lya Pheu» : "Tattoos: on the eyes: «Mutelumuna» which means to look sideways; in the middle of the forehead: variant of «Txiguelenguele» or «Samanana» characteristic of the quiocos (?); at the corner of the eyes and on the chin: «Mupila»; on the faces: two «Puniba» (?) (wheels) with a cross inside connected by «Tubenga» (?) which means something that is not straight or else the schematic representation of the skin of the jaguar or the musical instrument «Txinguvo» . This mask belonged to the dancer golale(?) of the NHALUKATUCA sobado (Luena) of Cassai. The mask was executed by the sculptor Txiezo Santope from Sanzala Liangongo (Sandando). The dancer who owned it called it Muana Pwó, which is the name because it is known among the Tchokwe. Purchased in Kasai (in the village located on the left side of the railway and east of the C.F.B. station) on 27 June 1970 [...]. Note: The mukixi Lya Pheu of the Luena performed the same function as the Mwana Pwo of the Tshokwe, and their masks are structurally identical. From my personal observation, I think I can conclude that a practical way of distinguishing them (in addition to possible identification by tattoos and hairstyles) is by the size of their family. The pure Tshokwe Muana Pwó masks have the face with a pronounced curvature (U). The more the mask moves away from its original formal purity, the more the face presents itself with greater curvature, which happens in Lya Pheu masks. This mukixi was also adopted, with the same symbology, by Bundas (Lya Mumbanda), Luxazes (Lya Mumbanda) and Guenguelas [...]. I don't know the masks of the Luxazes, but those of the Bundas and Guenguelas still have faces with less curvature than those of the Luenas, which confirms my opinion, as those ethnic groups are culturally more distant from the Tshokwe than the Luenas. This criterion seems to me to be still valid for evaluating the purity of the form of the Muana Pwó masks themselves". Cf. and vd. bibliography cited by the collector: LIMA, Mesquitela de - "Tatuagens da Lunda". S/L: Museu de Angola, 1956; and LIMA, Mesquitela de - "Os Akixi (Mascarados) do Nordeste de Angola". In "Diamag - Publicações Culturais nº 70". Lisbon: Companhia de Diamantes de Angola - Serviços Culturais Dundo - Lunda - Angola - Museu do Dundo, 1967, pp. 156-157, nº 19, where a «Lya Pheu» mask is represented.