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Catalog Data

Photographer:
Sousberghe, Léon de  Search this
Collection Photographer:
Sousberghe, Léon de  Search this
Extent:
1 Slide (col.)
Culture:
Pende (African people)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Slides
Color slides
Place:
Africa
Congo (Democratic Republic)
Date:
[ca. 1957]
Scope and Contents:
Original accompanying de Sousberghe caption reads, " Pende. Muyombo."
De Sousberghe photographed a dancer performing the mask Muyombo at a masquerade at Nyoka-Mulenga (Central Pende), which was misnamed Nyoka-Kakese during the early colonial period, ca 1955-57. Muyombo is the most beloved of the Central Pende masks. The emphasis of the performance is on beauty and style, the semicircular kicks, the pantomines of village activities, and the involvment of women. It is likely that Muyombo once had a central role, like Kipoko among the Eastern Pende, in fulfilling the masquerade's purpose of achieving a communion between the living and the dead. Masquerades buid and cement communities. They celebrate the restored state of peace and security.
Local Numbers:
LS 101
General:
Title source: Archives staff.
Note source: Archives staff.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Topic:
Masquerades  Search this
Masks  Search this
Clothing and dress -- Africa  Search this
Genre/Form:
Color slides
Identifier:
EEPA.1999-010, Item EEPA 1999-100015
See more items in:
Leon de Sousberghe photographs
Archival Repository:
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo7736a1766-87ca-4698-9eb1-f0ee45d718cb
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-eepa-1999-010-ref521