Page 106

I-IVCoverE_CoverF Vuvi

tity. A mask might originally have been red and later powdered 104 with kaolin for another ceremony. White masks are far more numerous than red ones. A white mask also might be blackened for use in judiciary proceedings. The black masks, which are very rare, had to be hidden in the bush and kept from being seen by Europeans. They are representations of spirits of upholders of the law and of justice, but are not a sculptural variant. Any white or red mask could be blackened for use in certain rituals associated with the rendering of justice, for seeking out maleficent sorcerers, solving crimes, or for trial by ordeal through the administration of poison, as among the Punu (Perrois and Grand-Dufay, 2005, no. 9: 104). There are only a few bi-colored Vuvi masks. The one in the collection of the Spiritain Fathers, inventory M.10 in the Mortain Collection, is interesting because it can be dated to before 1930. It has a red ochre-colored forehead and its lower part is yellow ochre with traces of kaolin. It also has a sugar loaf-shaped head similar to that of an exceptional black mask also in the Mortain Collection (inventory M.24). Morphology Escutcheon-shaped masks with triangular chins are the most numerous. They are of high quality and are among the oldest. The band around the hair may be slightly rounded or rectilinear, and the facial traits may be concentrated on the upper part of the mask. In the first issue of Arts Afrique Noire, Raoul Lehuard published a mask that he describes as follows: “It is sculpted in bark, and the face, whose features are summarily rendered, is covered with traces of white clay and inscribed into a lozenge shape with a rounded summit. Knots of vegetable fiber seen along the edges are the vestiges of what was a garment” (Lehuard, 1972: 46). The text demonstrates that at the time it was written in the 1970s, Vuvi masks as such were unknown. In 1965, André Terrisse published a Vuvi mask of the same style with ornaments, a coif, and a beard, which he identified as “M’pongwe,” along with four other white masks. Another group of masks has a more rectangular facial design, which is not characteristic of the Vuvi. Certain Fang or Aduma masks also have a rectilinear headband or chin. In any event, Vuvi masks of rectangular shape always have a flat surface, a tiny nose, and an open mouth. Lastly, certain Vuvi masks have a generally oval shape. The “icon” of Vuvi masks, the one in the former Hubert Goldet Collection, is among these. Masks! O Masks! Black mask, red mask, you black and white masks … You distill the air of eternity in which I breathe the air of my ancestors. Léopold Sédar Senghor, “Prière aux Masques,” excerpt from Chants d’Ombre, Oeuvre Poétique, Paris, Seuil, 1956. Acknowledgements I wish to express my warmest thanks to Isabelle Calvache, Danielle Dumon, Pierre Amrouche, Jean-Claude L’Herbette, to collectors, and to Christian Senersen for his invaluable help in the laborious work of rereading. FIG. 24 (above): At the crossroads of Mimongo and Iboundji, a Vuvi mask and a Tsogo gorilla mask. Photo by Pierre Amrouche, 1977. Reproduced with the kind permission of Pierre Amrouche. FIGS. 25, 26, and 27: Vuvi masks being danced in Mimongo. Photos by Pierre Amrouche, 1976. Reproduced with the kind permission of Pierre Amrouche.


I-IVCoverE_CoverF Vuvi
To see the actual publication please follow the link above