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.
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