Pwo mask dancer, near Gungu, Congo (Democratic Republic)
Object Details
- Local Numbers
- E 3 CKW 3 EE 71
- General
- Title is provided by EEPA staff based on photographer's notes.
- Local Note
- 25
- Frame value is 35.
- Slide No. E 3 CKW 3 EE 71
- Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Collection Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Place
- Africa
- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Topic
- Masquerades
- Masks
- Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Culture
- Chokwe (African people)
- See more items in
- Eliot Elisofon Field collection
- Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Congo (Democratic Republic) / EECL / Gungu, Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Extent
- 1 Slides (photographs) (col.)
- Date
- 1971
- Archival Repository
- Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
- Identifier
- EEPA.1973-001, Item EEPA EECL 4027
- Type
- Archival materials
- Slides (photographs)
- Color slides
- Collection Citation
- Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
- Collection Rights
- Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
- Genre/Form
- Color slides
- Scope and Contents
- "The mask called Pwo, woman, or Mwana Pwo, young girl, is the symbolic pendant to the male mask, Cihongo, and evokes the female ancestress, propitious for the fertility of the tribe. Dressed with care and charm, the dancer moves with elegance in front of the audience and teaches the spectators grace and good manners. She holds a rattle or a fly-whisk in her hand (Bastin 1982: ill.28)." [Bastin M.-L., 1993: The Akishi Spirits of the Chokwe, Face of the spirit]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Westinghouse Film and traveled to Africa from October 26, 1970 to end of March 1971.
- Collection Restrictions
- Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
- Record ID
- ebl-1536955032661-1536955037987-2
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
Related Content
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.