Original accompanying de Sousberghe caption reads, " Village Nioka. Masque Tundu." Translated original accompanying caption reads, "Dancer performing the mask Tundu at Nioka."
De Sousberghe photographed dancers performing the mask Tundu at a masquerade at "Nyoka-Mulenga" (Central Pende), which was misnamed "Nyoka-Kakese" during the early colonial period. Tundu and Kindombolo are masks that represent the same aesthetic expressed in the very different stylistic languages of the Central and Eastern Pende: the anti-aesthetic. Their grotesque form and behavior show to us how ludicrous we look when we disregard social conventions and think of ourselves. Tundu has always shown a great variety of forms and is sometimes called the "chief of the dance floor" because he is always present from the beginning to the end.
Local Numbers:
LS 091
General:
Title source: Archives staff.
Note source: Archives staff.
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