African Bunda Wood Carved Tribal Mask. 

Size: 14 x 8 x 6 1/4 in. 

#4662 . 

The Bunda people (also known as the Ambuun or Mbuun) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are an ethnic group that mostly live in the Idiofa Territory of Kwilu Province. They speak the Mpuono (Fuumu) language, an offshoot of the Teke languages dialect continuum that stretches across the Congolese plateau. The name and the territory they inhabit came from the Belgian colonial administration, who sought to both categorize and isolate the tribes during their conquest of the area, in order to prevent collaboration and potential uprisings. Today there are also some Bunda populations in Bulungu Territory and Gungu Territory, but the highest concentration is in the city of Idiofa, from which that Territory takes its name. Hunting and fishing are their primary activities, since the region is tropical with severely alternating dry and rainy seasons, making farming virtually impossible. For this reason also their tribal traditions and activities are less demonstrative and extravagant than some of their neighbors, although they still engage in a degree of animal worship and the making of ritual objects like masks. These masks are often more austere and in some ways more realistic than many of the lavish images of deities in other regions, partially because the masks sometimes serve protective purposes as well during hunting, and are made to be more sturdy and portable. Ethnographers have theorized that the mask serves a dual purpose during hunting, as a way to frighten or intimidate prey or enemies during combat, and guarding against attacks to the face.