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TRIBAL AFRICAN ART
Gabon
This equatorial forest people settled in the south and southwest of
Gabon. They form part of the intricate network of Gabon’s forty ethnicities, all of
whose institutions are similar and whose daily life is regulated by the necessities
arising from a physically hostile environment. Lacking centralized political organization,
social life is concentrated in the village and clans. Ancestors and tutelary spirits are
worshipped, and it is the initiation brotherhoods, such as the mukudji society,
which play a therapeutic and judiciary role and rule social life.
Lumbo artists carved figures influenced by Punu and Kongo styles.
Generally, among the Lumbo, figurative sculpture is used for protection from malevolent
forces and promotion of fecundity. (Perrois, 1985). Their masks appear in funerary
rituals, initiation ceremonies, and the magical rites whose function is to unmask
sorcerers. The masks are called variously okuyi, mukuyi or mukudji
depending on the district. They are commemorative portraits of male and female ancestors,
the dancers often performing impressive acrobatics on stilts as they proceed through the
village. Women and children prefer to hide from them, although there is apparently no
prohibition against the masks being seen by them. White masks are famous throughout Gabon. Their style here is
realistic: they are characterized by oval or triangular faces, hairdos composed of one or
several loops, a dominant forehead, large eyes of coffee-bean shape with slightly hollowed
sockets, and a realistic nose with pronounced nostrils and sides. The lips are outlined,
the cheekbones protrude, the chin is pointed. White masks participate in celebrations;
black ones operate as judges and help identify sorcerers.
Lumbo statuettes are
recognizable by their braided hair that terminates in a horn shape. Their function is no
longer known, but from their small size, one may gather that they served as protective
charms. The facial features of the white masks are found here, too. From a slight bulging
visible around the “face,” it appears that some statuettes may represent a
person wearing a mask.
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