Kuba Giwoyo Initiation Mask

The Pende People live in the deepest, darkest heart of Africa, where they initiate young boys into adulthood in a ceremony called Mukanda. Although this ceremony is sacred, it is also highly entertaining and theatrical, highlighted by a performance that can have as many as sixty characters. These characters have names as intriguing, diverse and recognizable as-- the mysterious longbeards, chief, killer, old maid, wine pourer, clown, prostitute, poisoner, and of course, the ancestors, whose job is to insure the gap between adolescence and adulthood is finally bridged.

Featured is a mask representing one of these characters. It's name is Giwoyo. It represents the ancestor who surfaces at the end of the long performance, right at dusk, his face directed toward the setting sun-- a sobering reminder that we all have a role to play as we move through life. Giwoyo makes the invisible visible, the profane sacred, the traditional new, and ultimately, the dead alive. If we listen closely, he also reminds us of our role as responsible adults if we are to make this passage fulfilling, enjoyable, and beneficial for ourselves and all those with whom we share life.

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