Bwoom mask, Kuba culture

The Bwoom mask is one of three royal masks of the Kuba. The other two are Mwaash aMbooy, which depicts both the founding forefather Woot and the king, and Ngady Mwaash aMbooy, the incestuous sister-wife of Woot. In this context, Bwoom is sometimes seen as the common man. According to other interpretations, the mask depicts a hydrocephalic prince, or a Tshwa pygmy.

Despite all the variations on the theme, the overwhelming opinion holds that Bwoom is a counterpart of Woot and the king, and that opposition is shown in the dance. Mwaash aMbooy dances in a slow and stately fashion, Bwoom with pride and aggression. The costumes for both masks are the same, a large outfit with layers of raffia cloth, beads and cowrie shells, leopard skin, armbands and ankle bands, as well as eagle feathers on the mask itself.

The masks are primarily used in public ceremonies and rites performed around the king and as a part of initiation ceremonies. The masks are often used in solo dances, but they always refer to origin myths. Bwoom is Woot’s evil brother and appears in Kuba dances about mythological origins and royal power struggles. Although Bwoom aspires to both the throne and the wife of the king, symbolically the mask speaks for the common man.

The design of the Bwoom perhaps dates from the 18th century and represents the oldest type of mask. The Bwoom mask’s eyes are not perforated, so it is ‘blind’. The masked dancer looks through the pried open nostrils when the mask is worn horizontally.

From: Faber, P., S. Wijs & D. van Dartel, 'Africa at the Tropenmuseum'. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers, 2011. p.61.

circa 55 x 25cm (21 5/8 x 9 13/16in.)

Source: collectie.tropenmuseum.nl