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26

Rare LEGA Ivory Mask artifact, Democratic Republic of the Congo, carved from elephant ivory (loxod

Currency:USD Category:Artifacts Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
Rare LEGA Ivory Mask artifact, Democratic Republic of the Congo, carved from elephant ivory (loxod
Rare LEGA Ivory Mask artifact, Democratic Republic of the Congo, carved from elephant ivory (loxodonta africana), of oval hollowed form. Museum quality. [9 (oz),6 (in),3.5 (in),1.3 (in)]
The Lega believed that the bwami association builds the bridge between the living and the departed. Lega masks were substitutes for deceased ancestors and enabled the latter to participate in bwami rituals. However, Lega masks did not represent specific individuals but rather idealized ancestors. For a full discussion of Lega masks and their role in the bwami association see Biebuyck (1973: 142-230).

Lega masks can be categorized by their form and material. The offered mask, which resembles a skull, belongs to the lukungu (lit. "skull") category. Lukungu masks were made from ivory or bone and reserved for members of the highest grade in the bwami association: the kindi. Entrance to the kindi was dependent on the completion of the initiation rituals of all lower bwami grades as well as the rites specific for kindi. The kindi rites included a sequence of three ritual cycles: kyogo kya kindi, musagi wa kindi, and lutumbo lwa kindi. Only the completion of all three of these cycles could initiate participants into kindi.

Masks like the offered lot were used as paraphernalia during the final kindi ritual cycle: the lutumbo lwa kindi. These rites, which lasted four to seven days, were the most involved of any Lega ritual cycle and required the construction of a new village for potential initiates and their kinsmen (Biebuyck 1973: 79-81). The Rubin Mask would have been used in two of the fourteen rituals in the lutumbo lwa kindi cycle: kilinkumbi and ibugebuge. In the former, the mask would have been affixed to a small fence with other small masks. In the latter, participants in lutumbo lwa kindi wore (lower-ranking) wooden masks and danced around the fence built during kilinkumbi. The ibugebuge dance induced a trance-like state in which participants offered interpretations of the kilinkumbi masks. See Biebuyck (1954: passim) for further discussion.

A Lega proverb states that "On ivory, mushrooms do not grow" (Biebuyck 1973: 174), indicating that lukungu masks were impervious to the effects of time. The transmission of lukungu masks within a matriline thus underscored the lineage's unbroken chain of kindi and renewed the Lega traditions and bwami rituals for the next generation.

Despite the significance of masks within bwami, it is important to note that masks - like all Lega ritual paraphenalia - were considered to have inherent power (magala). Magala could be activated in the context of bwami, making the object a masango, which translates as "heavy thing." The use in bwami rites added a "weight" (i.e., a ritual significance) to the objects used and made them powerful also outside of the context of bwami (cf. Biebuyck 1972: 50-60). For this reason, masks were also used in funerary rituals, where, upon the death of a high-ranking individual, a fence would be built around the grave on which masks would be hung (Delhaise 1909).
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