EO.0.0.34145
Kazeba or kakuungu mask (Yaka) - EO.0.0.34145
Early 1st quarter of the 20th century. Wood (Croton mayumbensis). RD Congo. Registered in 1932. Collected by Father O. Butaye (1920s?).
The kazeba and kakuungu masks mainly performed at the mukanda (male initiation ritual, linked to circumcision) of the Yaka and the Suku. They possessed great powers and were the property of the isidika, the ritual specialist of the mukanda. Their main function was to protect the circumcised boys from numerous dangers.