Initiation Mask (emangungu)

Emangungu masks feature a double set of eyes highlighted by kaolin, a white clay. The exaggerated eyes may symbolize the ability to see into realms beyond the immediate physical world. These masks were attached to the top of banana-leaf and banana-bark strip costumes, which young men wore over the body. Alternately, these masks could have been attached to a small, cone-shaped hat made of bark. Emangungu masks were most likely used by a small sub-group of the Bembe during a circumcision rite called butende bwa 'eluba. Such masks were worn by young male initiates when they left the initiation camp to solicit food from neighboring villages during the period of ritual seclusion.