Octagonal, carved mask, with red, black and white decoration
This mask called kidumu probably belonged to a men's society and represents the spirit of the bush. The eyes and the nose are used as the foundation for a formal pattern. The Kidumu society composed soley of adult men, plays a central role in adult initiation rituals, funerals and other major village events. In the northwest region of the territory, a dancer from the Kidumu Society wears an abstract plank mask, with a costume of raffia fibre and feathers to hide the body. The mask is associated with a bush spirit known as “Nkita.” Representing the spirit, the mask wearer enters the village from the forest and dances an energetic cartwheeling dance alone to music rather than in a group before retiring again to the forest.
