- Collection type
- Object
- Description
- Pregnancy cover.
- Long description
- Carved wooden body cover/mask in the form of a pregnant stomach with protruding belly button and breasts. The rounded stomach is decorated with painted designs in red, white, and black pigment, and incised crosses indicating scarification or tattoos. The edge of the mask and the breasts are ornamented with yellow, black, and white coloured beads. Such masks are worn during masquerade ceremonies and dances.
- Geographical reference
- Cultural groups
- Makonde
- Person
- Maker Unknown Maker
- Field collector John Ballard
- PRM source Penelope Tickell
- PRM source Crispin Charles Cervantes Tickell
- Date / Period
- Date made: 1901 - 2000, uncertain
- Date collected
- August 2010
- Acquisition information
- Donated: 28/11/2024
- Materials and processes
- Material Wood Plant, Process Carved, Material Bead, Material Canvas Textile
- Dimensions
- Length: max 560 mm, Width: max 300 mm
- Object numbers
- Accession number: 2024.21.3 Other numbers: 16
- Research and responses
There is a comparable body mask in the collection of the Hood Museum of Art in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. It has the accession number 2005.69 and is described in the online catalogue as follows: "A Makonde man wore this wooden body mask modeled after a young woman’s pregnant belly and full breasts during danced performances accompanied by a chorus and an ensemble of drums. He also wore a mask on his head which, unexpectedly, depicted the features of a much older woman. The character he presented was an elder woman who was scandalously pregnant, meant as a comic jab at the respected women who organized girls’ initiation into adulthood. The knowledge they passed along to their younger counterparts included practical information on sexual activities, pregnancy, and childbirth—the mask and performance focused on this aspect of their work, drawing it out to an absurd degree. In reality, the expansive range of elder Makonde women’s teachings included domestic, medical, and social knowledge, reflecting a woman’s role in leading her family and community." The record for the mask can be seen at the following URL: https://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/objects/2005.69.
Another similar body mask in the Timothy S.Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, describes the object as follows: "The Makonde people live in southeast Tanzania, northern Mozambique, and Kenya. This mask, known as a njorowe, is from Tanzania. Masks like this one are used in Makonde initiation rituals. During their initiation, boys are isolated for a period of several months during which they are circumcised and taught rules of adult behavior, expectations of married life, traditional songs and dances, and other practical skills. When the young men return to the village, celebrations including masked dance performances are held. A male dancer wears this type of body mask along with a feminine mask on his face, representing a young, pregnant woman. Together with a male masked figure, the dancers pantomime sexual intercourse and demonstrate the burdens of pregnancy and agony of childbirth. The ritual prepares young men and women for their roles as future husbands and wives." The mask can be seen at the following URL: https://lammuseum.wfu.edu/2022/07/makonde-body-mask/.
Search terms: Mask, Dance, Children and Childcare, Reproduction, Gender and Sexuality, Dance Accessory