The masquerade character represented in this mask is Bwoom, one of three main figures in Kuba mythology. The other two are Woot (the first man and founder of the royal Kuba lineage), and Mweel, Woot’s sister and wife.

Embellished with cowrie shells, beads, seed pods, copper sheeting, goatskin, and hair, bwoom is one of three types of royal Kuba masks, all of which are treated as embodiments of nature spirits (mingesh).

This Kuba mask, called aBwoom or mBwoom, is a principle mask used in a variety of contexts including public ceremonies, rites involving the king, and initiations. The Bwoom is one of three in a royal masking trio; the other two are Ngaady aMwaash and Mwash aMbooy.

What the bwoom mask represents varies among Kuba storytellers. Some refer to it as a younger brother of the king, while others represent it as an outsider or commoner. The copper sheeting is a spiritual substance among many African peoples, and among some represents status or royalty.

Title: Helmet Mask (Bwoom) Date: 19th–20th century. Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sankuru River region. Culture: Kuba peoples. Medium: Wood, beads, cloth, leather, copper, cowrie shells. Dimensions: H. 13 7/8 x W. 10 5/8 x D. 11 3/4 in. (35.2 x 27 x 29.9 cm) Classification: Wood-Costumes

2022年6月13日 · Among the Bushoong, the central Kuba group, the mask known as bwoom—most typically identified as the head of a hunter-gatherer—forms a triad with a female mask and another male mask. All three are protagonists in the reenactment of the foundation of the Kuba kingdom.

The Bwoom mask is quite possibly the autochthonous mask of the region, with variants in nearly all of the Kuba sub-groups. Though Bushoong folk tales exist to explain its appearance as a pygmy or a hydrocephalic, the mask may have more in common with other large masculine helmet masks dispersed over the wider general area.

Among the Bushoong, the central Kuba group, the mask known as bwoom —most typically identified as the head of a hunter-gatherer—forms a triad with a female mask and another male mask. All three are protagonists in the reenactment of the foundation of the Kuba kingdom.