Ngil mask

This type of anthropomorphic mask was used by male society Ngil This secret society was in charge of initiations and fought against sorcery. The Ngil is a rite of purifying fire symbolized by the gorilla and its mask represents the power and strength conferred by the ancestor who embodies it. The wearers of these masks made their appearance in the villages at night, under the light of torches, forming numerous groups. The face is painted with kaolin, color that evokes the power of the ancestors. The white color of each mask embodies the spirit of a deceased.

the Ngil is a secret society of a judicial nature, therefore the judicial function is one of the most important of the masks Ngil. those who are responsible for trying those guilty of wrongdoing and those responsible for the crimes. Its main objective was to prevent sorcerers and sorcerers from harming the population. Beyempossessed by evil spirits. Ngil are a society Fang which is above all lineages. Initiation into society Ngil included a prior, physical and moral purification followed by a flogging and confession of the offences and violation of the prohibitions. It took part in an ordalic trial before the relics of the ancestors, contained in the byeriThis was the symbolic passage from an androgynous state to the male state of an adult, defined sexually. The Ngil had its sacred place in a clearing of the forest called élam, where there were large figures lying vaguely human, representing the Ngil The neophytes were to retrace in front of these effigies by passing over a pit in which hidden warriors tried to wound them with their weapons. They were also to be tested for ants.

Only men could be initiated to Ngilwhich was also used against the curses, poisonings and which served as protection to its members. The Ngnil always tried to restore the social order and was part of the rituals that regulated the life of the traditional Gabonese peoples

After the tests carried out in the sacred forest, the ritual continued in the square of the village, at dawn or at dusk. Armed with a saber or a simple baton Ngil It should destroy the homes of the neighbors who were in conflict with other members of society. These enmitys were due to adultery, theft, or debt. The mask bearer had a serious voice that frightened women and children and imposed respect on men.

These long-faced white masks were worn by notable members of their society. They are very stylized masks, with fine elongated features that appear on the human face, giving the impression of an elongated heart, characteristic of this ethnic group. His eyes are very little open and his mouth reduced to the simplest expression in order to be deformed and not to recognize his bearer.

This society was banned during the Colonization, in the year 1910for being the cause of absurd deaths and for opposing colonial authority.

Mask that perfectly draws the elongated heart characteristic of the masks Fang. Remains of white polychrome in the center of the face and orange in its contour. Small openings to allow the vision of its carrier, under which appear an inverted semicircumference-shaped eyes surrounded by a closed arch of black circumference, like the eyes. Black eyebrows with white lilies. Facial scarifications in the form of "V" reversed. Human-looking mouth. On the sides of the face there is a undulating line in the form of "S" continuous. Indigenous repairs in different places of the mask, which accuses its antiquity. An identical mask appears in most books dealing with African art.