Chokwe (Batshioko, Jokwe, Tshokwe), Chokwe (Batshioko, Jokwe, Tshokwe),
The pwo woman shrine mask. While in former times the masks played
important roles in religious beliefs and institutional practices, now many Chokwe masks
have come to be used primarily for entertainment. Itinerant actors wearing these masks
travel from village to village, living on gifts received at performances. The most popular
and best-known entertainment masks are chihongo, spirit of wealth, and pwo,
his consort. The pwo mask is an archetype of womanhood. As an
ancestor, she is envisioned as an elderly woman. Recently pwo has become known as mwana pwo, a young woman who undergone initiation
and is ready for marriage. In terms of dance masks, the pwo is the incarnation of
the female ancestor who encourages fertility;
it is worn by a man dressed in a net tunic. It brings fecundity to the spectators, and it
sometimes dances with a statuette that represents a mother carrying her child on her back.
This unusual pwo mask was apparently produced to be kept in the family shrine,
together with small female mahamba (ancestor spirit) figures.
Material: wood
Size: 16½”x13”x5½”
Price: $210+$33 (S&H)
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