Facial Mask

Mask from the village of Sogha, dark garnet color face and hair and black. Black eyebrows too. Pretty flat wood. A fissure in the hair area. The Tsogho, also called Mitsoghos, are the oldest practitioners of the Bwiti cult in Gabon. The Bwiti is both a secret society, a cult of ancestors and a religion that allows every Mitsogho man to discover the Supreme Being "Nambe Kana". It is a spiritual and supernatural being difficult to define that ensnares in itself all supernatural entities of worship. Ceremonies Tsogho are comparable to sacred musical performances held in a temple. The officiant, singers and musicians are all depositaries of the word initiatic. The masks and statues occupy the center of the ceremony and the faithful are at a time spectators and participants.

This mask is part of the ritual and symbolizes the joy of the feast. It appears at dawn, during the rites of the Bwiti, rites of passage for neophytes and rites of death or mourning for the initiates.