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The Collector(s) / Donor(s) Peter Klaus lived in Monrovia, Liberia, from 1977 to 1983, while serving as the Director of Operations for Africa for PanAmerican Airlines. During this period, he had an opportunity to travel throughout Africa and he developed a keen interest in African art. He became particularly interested in the the masks of the Sande society and proceeded to build a fine collection. In 1991 he donated 34 of his sowei masks to Michigan State University Museum. The Object(s) This is a mask associated with a women's society most frequently referred to as Sande (or Bundu). Sande is an important cultural institution among many of the peoples living in the neighboring countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa. This helmet mask is worn as part of a costume that completely conceals the body of an elder of the the women's society who when wearing the mask is identified as sowei. The masked performer is said to represent a spirit or ngafa. The formal attributes associated with the sowei mask express ideals of moral and physical female beauty and goodness--high forehead, rings around the neck, downcast eyes, small pursed lips, and elaborate hairdo. The sowei mask is an unusual mask in Africa, for it not only represents a female spirit, but is danced by female members of the women's society--throughout the continent, most masks, even those representing women, are usually danced by men. This particular mask was collected in Liberia when it was new. It apparently was never worn in a performance and may have been carved for export. Further Information Books and Articles Ruth Phillips. Representing Woman: The Sande Masquerades of the Mende. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1995. Ruth Phillips. "Masking in Mende Sande Society Initiation Rituals." Africa (London) 48 (3) 1978: 265-77. Ruth Phillips. "The Iconography of the Mende Sowei Mask." Ethnologische Zeitschrift Zürich 1 1980: 113-32. Fred Lamp."Cosmos, Cosmetics, and the Spirit of Bondo," African Arts 18 (3) May 1985: 28-43, 98-99. Lester Monts. "Dance in the Vai Sande Society." African Arts 17 (4) Aug 1984: 53-59, 94-95. Daniel Mato and Charles Miller. Sande: Masks and Statues from Liberia and Sierra Leone. Amsterdam: Galerie Balolu, 1990. Internet Resourcesnone
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