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About this piece

Large face masks and helmet masks surmounted by animal or human figures were worn by dancers during certain initiation ceremonies. The southern Suku produced hairpins, neck rests and adzes with rounded features, unlike the northern Suku whose everyday objects were more angular in appearance- stylistically influenced by the Yaka.

About the Suku People

                “The 80,000 Suku people lived in the south-western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) since the 16th century. With the arrical of the Yaka and the Lunda intheir territory, they were split into two autonomous groups. Their main econoomix resource is farming, but occasionally communal hunts are organized. Stylistically, their sculptures are characterized by an enlarged head with an almond-shaped mouth with incised teeth, a triangular nose and coffee-bean eyes, all set under an elaborate coiffure. The Suku carved large figures, which were used during fertility ceremonies, and crouching fetish figures to which paraphernalia were attached. These were used either as ancestor figures or as the personification of evil spirits.”

Source:

Baquart, Jean-Baptiste. The Tribal Arts of Africa. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc. 1998. Print

Dave Dahl—CEO Discover African Art

Keywords: Suku, DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mask

ID# 1001305