Diviner's Mask

Among the Kongo peoples, diviners known as Nganga utilized masks for healing rites and possibly for initiation rites as well. Masks were used by the Yombe and Vili sub-groups during these ritual processes, although their exact role is not clearly understood.

One theory is that the Nganga would take on aspects of the spirit the mask depicted and retrieve the stolen or damaged soul of the individual who had been sickened by witchcraft.

Some masks occasionally imitated the naturalistic carving of the chiefly power figures, and the powerful yet delicate and naturalistic features look quite similar.

However, as in the case of this mask, possibly those linked to individuals not associated with high rank or chieftainship, the canon of style was far less dogmatic with wide variations existing both regionally and sub-regionally. In stark contrast to the facial carving of other Yombe works, this mask appears to reference a different tradition entirely; the surface being of natural brown wood and of almost crude form rather than the heightened naturalism usually seen in Yombe art.

It may be that the masks used by such ritualists had a very broad canon of style. Another possibility is that the masks were carved by the individual diviners themselves on occasion--this would account for the tremendous variation in quality and form.