Okuyi Mask (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
Okuyi masks represent spirits of the dead in Punu funeral performances. Wearing an Okuyi mask and dancing on tall stilts, the performer elevates the spirit above the living. White pigment applied to the mask signifies peace and the afterlife. On this mask, the elegant, upswept hairstyle parted in the middle reveals a small standing figure. Such a feature, which is extremely rare on a Punu mask, may suggest either the succession of generations or rebirth of the spirit of the deceased. The Punu, who live near Gabon’s Atlantic coast, are neighbors of the Kongo and the Tsogo peoples. Their use of diamond shapes and white pigment, together with their concern for the spirit of the dead, represent a shared vocabulary of art forms in this region.
Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund
"Spirit of the Motherland," Affiliate exhibition, Museum of Western Virginia, Roanoke, Virginia, September 1995-Jan 1996 and Peninsula F.A.C., Newport News, Virginia, Jan-May 1996.
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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