Minganji Mask

Ascribed more supernatural power than the Pende Mbuya-type mask, Minganji masks also feature a variety of characters and take on various forms although all have the protruding cylindrical eyes and wear a netted fiber costume with raffia ruffs worn around the neck, waist, wrists, and ankles. The dancer is completely hidden by the large fiber costume.

Minganji are used to police and discipline young initiates in Mukanda initiation and make sure that women and children do not interfere. As such, these masks are often terrifying to the Pende people as they represent wild and uncontrollable nature spirits that are related to the initiatory camp – itself a place of ambiguous character, being partially of the village and partially of the bush.

Occasionally, these masks will appear at the death of a chief, the investiture of his successor, and curing rites associated with certain illnesses. In such instances, the masks assert a connection between the initiatory system and the village.

Minganji such as this example are the rarest and most important: with a large circular facial area, they are known as the Gitenga sub-variety - the grandfather or chief of all other Minganji masks.

Appearing first at the beginning of Minganji dances, the Gitenga moves slowly with dignity and holds a bell in one hand and a staff in the other; symbols of rank and power also utilized by the village chief. The form of the mask refers to the setting solar disk or the moment of the dawn – a time of ambiguity – neither night nor day and therefore, a symbol of life and regeneration. Others of the Minganji series of masks embody death, uncertainty, and darkness.

The superb state of preservation of this example is notable, with the Blue Curacao and hawk feathers still completely surrounding the mask and the surface still retaining its red coloration. The white line on the forehead and coloring of the eyes and mouth may indicate connections to the world of the spirits and the ability of the mask to see and speak for things ‘not of this world’.