MENDE - BUNDU - SOWEI - MAMI WATA HELMET MASK ( Sierra LEONE )
Mid 20th century. 19''
Mid 20th century. 19''
MENDE - BUNDU - SOWEI HELMET MASK .
The Mende culture is primarily found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, western Guinea and
Mali. Secret societies among the Mende are called Poro, which means "laws of
ancestor spirits, thereby imparting power to the Poro from ancestor spirits. The
Poro duties include settling disputes, controlling fishing and harvesting, and
regulating the economy and trading. Other societies within the Mende are
responsible for military training, agricultural fertility, general education, sexual
conduct, and medical and social services. The Mende women belong to a secret
society called Sande which is primarily responsible for training young girls for the
adult roles they will soon encounter. Mende girls are instructed in child care,
homemaking, sexual matters abed the proper attitude towards husbands and
authority. Mende boys are instructed in road maintenance, clearing land for
agriculture, bridge and trap making, basketry and weaving, traditional law and
custom, and the art of enduring hardship and pain. Secret societies dominate the
lives of traditional West Africans and serve to establish social, political, economic,
and artistic rules that solidify and unite the culture.
The Sande society uses the word ''Sowei'' to represent the personification of the
society's spirit, medicine, and the most important masked dancer. The Sowei is
present at initiation school, brings male offenders to justice, and is the chief
mourner at funerals for Sande officials. Sowei mask are kept in special enclosures
called Kende where the mask attendant keeps medicine and masks.
The Mende culture is primarily found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, western Guinea and
Mali. Secret societies among the Mende are called Poro, which means "laws of
ancestor spirits, thereby imparting power to the Poro from ancestor spirits. The
Poro duties include settling disputes, controlling fishing and harvesting, and
regulating the economy and trading. Other societies within the Mende are
responsible for military training, agricultural fertility, general education, sexual
conduct, and medical and social services. The Mende women belong to a secret
society called Sande which is primarily responsible for training young girls for the
adult roles they will soon encounter. Mende girls are instructed in child care,
homemaking, sexual matters abed the proper attitude towards husbands and
authority. Mende boys are instructed in road maintenance, clearing land for
agriculture, bridge and trap making, basketry and weaving, traditional law and
custom, and the art of enduring hardship and pain. Secret societies dominate the
lives of traditional West Africans and serve to establish social, political, economic,
and artistic rules that solidify and unite the culture.
The Sande society uses the word ''Sowei'' to represent the personification of the
society's spirit, medicine, and the most important masked dancer. The Sowei is
present at initiation school, brings male offenders to justice, and is the chief
mourner at funerals for Sande officials. Sowei mask are kept in special enclosures
called Kende where the mask attendant keeps medicine and masks.