Kifwebe Mask

The Songye like their relatives, the Luba people make Kifwebe masks. The Songye people are a Bantu ethnic group from the central part of Democratic Republic of the Congo. The people of Songye are divided into thirty-four conglomerate societies. Each group is led by a single chief with Judiciary Council of elders and nobles called bilolo. Today, the Songye people are around 200, 000 in number. The origin of the Songye begins with their founding ancestors Chimbale and Kongolo who established the Kingdom of Luba but suffering political dissension left Luba land to form the Songye. The people of Songye believe in a supreme being Ele-ife. This mask was modelled after one of the rarest and expen...View all