This mask from the Mende or Bundu people of Sierra Leone and Liberia represents Sowe, a spirit emerging from smooth silty river bottoms. In these countries the pan-ethnic Sande women’s society organizes initiation rituals for young girls in which they are taken to remote areas and instructed in the transition to womanhood. The rituals include music and dancing, with an elder female wearing this type of helmet mask on top of her head, her body covered in long raffia, and her arms in loose fabric sleeves.

On display, this mask has no spiritual power or presence. Its power occurs when it is accompanied by music and dance, used to instruct and initiate women through its shiny black surface, idealized ornate hairstyle, rolls around the neck, small closed mouth, and downcast eyes. These features may represent idealized traits among women, such as silence, submission, and beauty.

These masks are made by men, but they are part of the only known masquerade tradition in which the masks are worn by women. This ritual continues as an ongoing contemporary practice which is timed around school vacations and work holidays. (Brooklyn Museum, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY). (PS)

Rotating video: https://vimeo.com/504459212