Ancestress mask

This headtop mask represents a beautiful ancestress. The men who wore it were members of a secret society with sacred powers and authority. Masked up as this famous ancestress they were recognising and adopting her fame and child-bearing success. The mask is made of carved wood covered in skin with a basket-work base. It has elaborate horns and a forward spiralling headdress, black pegs for hair, black tribal marks on both cheeks and bone teeth.