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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, " 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.
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 1999-100019
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/xo77dd53628-a947-4c87-9da2-c9a5c3c7429f
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-eepa-1999-010-ref525