Regents of the University of California Ritual Masks of the Chokwe Author(s): Marie-Louise Bastin Source: African Arts, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Aug., 1984), pp. 40-45+92-93+95-96 Published by: UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3336156 Accessed: 27-10-2016 14:53 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms Regents of the University of California, UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to African Arts This content downloaded from 141.213.142.215 on Thu, 27 Oct 2016 14:53:14 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Ritual Masks of the Chokwe MARIE-LOUISE BASTIN T he majority of the Chokwe, ades aof this century, they pushed into a person might chance to step on or matrilineal Bantu people estimated northwestern to Zambia (McCulloch 1951). touch scrapings of medicine or clothing number more than 600,000, inhabit Chokwe culture seems to have abandoned after an exorcism. The northeastern Angola between the reached its peak during the eighteenth banished spirit still remains in these ma- Kwango and Kasai rivers. At some point and nineteenth centuries, the era terials of the and possesses its new victim. in a history that dates back to the end of great chiefdoms. At their courts a presti-The Chokwe distinguish between the the fifteenth or the sixteenth century and gious style of art unfolded, but itancient disap- mahamba (makulwana) of the an- remains rather obscure (Bastin 1978: 30- peared when the important chiefdoms cestors ofand the parasitic mahamba (yip- 41), Lunda chiefs invaded what is now the original homeland fell into decline;wiya), which have become attached to Angola, conquering the local people, the almost seminomadic lifestyles the of former. the Some of the yipwiya are who may have been of Mbwela stock. Chokwe of the outer territories did not foreign in origin. They are at their most From these origins the Chokwe emerged incorporate works exalting the dangerous when they cause illness, and to develop their own culture. From 1860 sovereign, such as statues of the chief they are also the most difficult to ap- on, they grew at an astonishing rate (see and scepters. The deterioration of the pease. Miller 1969). At the end of the nineteenth ancient courts was not only a result of The mahamba makulwana include the century, the Chokwe had expanded into expansion: famine and disease, mainly ajimu, who represent the lineage's pat- the regions of Kwango (Bandundu), smallpox, ravaged central Angola in the ernal and maternal ancestors and are Kasai, and Shaba, located in present-day last quarter of the nineteenth century, symbolized by two termite mounds (Fig. Zaire, where a large number still reside and the situation was aggravated by war 1). A displeased ajimu causes only minor (Boone 1961, 1973), and in the first dec- and the new colonial presence. Neverthe- illness, which the cult priest, the ances- less, the chief (mwanangana) today re- tors' highest-ranking descendant, can tains his political, legal, and, above all, cure by simply crushing a leaf between religious authority over his subjects, rul- the palms of his hands.2 Other mahamba ing with the support of the ancestors, to makulwana bring good luck to hunters, whom a cult is devoted. Traditional cul- insure the fertility of women, and aid di- ture has been little disturbed by the vari- viners; they have their own cults and ous upheavals of the past: despite ex- rituals. Only those mahamba that cause pansion, the language shows only a few sickness (yikola) will be considered here.3 regional variations in pronunciation, When a Chokwe falls ill, his relatives and the social cultural, and religious tra- treat him with medicine considered ef- ditions are characterized by remarkable fective. If the desired result is not ob- continuity and homogeneity. This paper tained, a doctor who is knowledgeable will deal with some aspects of Chokwe about plants, either with respect to their ancestral beliefs as they relate to certain healing powers or their symbolism or masks, using information obtained magic significance, is summoned. mainly from two Chokwe chiefs, Sa- Should the illness continue or worsen, a chombo and Sakumbu. 1 relative consults the diviner (tahi). Of the several traditional Chokwe divination Hamba instruments (ngombo), the one presently A hamba (pl. mahamba) is an ancestral or in most widespread use is the ngombo ya nature spirit to which a cult is dedicated. cisuka, a round basket containing sixty Mahamba are represented by trees, pieces small symbolic objects (Fig. 1). The tahi of termite mounds, intentionally shakes the basket, and the subsequent simplified figurines, and by masks. It is pattern reveals the cause of the illness, through these symbolic representations usually a hamba spirit that the tahi specif- that prayers, offerings, and sacrifices are ically names. sent to the spirits in order to insure their Illness caused by mahamba other than protection in everyday life and to soothe ajimu requires a ritual process that can be them if they have been angered by a fol- quite lengthy. Treatment is directed by a lower's neglect, a dispute among their cimbanda, a man or woman who has been descendants, or the failure to observe exorcised of the same spirit and has sub- some act of homage. An angry hamba sequently become a member of its cult. It may cause the offender to fall ill. Women takes place in front of the entire village may have gynecological problems, and a and some of the victim's relatives who 1. DIVINER SAMBAU MWANDUMBA WITH HIS DIVINATION man may be unlucky in the hunt. A have come especially for the ceremony. BASKET (NGOMBO YA CISUKA). WITH THE RATTLE (MUSAMBU) HE CASTS OUT EVIL SPIRITS. THE MOUNDS Chokwe may also become sick if he is Aided by the sound of tambourines and OF EARTH IN THE BACKGROUND REPRESENT HIS caught by a malevolent spirit. When the clapping crowd, the cimbanda in- MAHAMBA AJIMU. VALODIA, OCTOBER 1978. walking through the bush or near a river, duces a fit of possession in the sick per- 40 This content downloaded from 141.213.142.215 on Thu, 27 Oct 2016 14:53:14 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms who dons the mask loses his human qualities and becomes the incarnation of the spirit.5 There are certain hereditary or ac- quired prerequisites for wearing the mask. In 1956, I asked an informant to put on a mask belonging to the Museu do Dundo so that I could photograph him; he refused, fearing the supernatural consequences, but summoned a friend authorized to wear the mask, who spit on it before placing it on his head. Alfred Hauenstein (1981) who spent long years in Angola and the Ivory Coast, did a brief study of the importance of saliva and spit- ting in African rituals. He indicates that the act of spitting is at once a benedic- tion, a purification, an offering, and a way of presenting a request. A Chokwe spits on the inside of a mask before put- ting it on to obtain the spirit's protection and eliminate any danger of evil posses- sion. The Chokwe distinguish three categories of masks. The first type is the sacred sacrificial Cikungu or mukishi wa mwanangana mask, representing the chief's ancestors. Made of resin, it is carefully preserved in a small hut built in 2. SAMUZANGA IN FRONT OF HIS SHRINE (KATUNDA) CONTAINING THE PROTECTORS AGAINST ILLNESS (MAHAMBA A YIKOLA). the bush on the outskirts of the village. Cikungu is brought out only on rare occa- sions, when a sacrifice is required for the son (mwenji), who lies on a mat. In the perform a monthly ritual on the appear- well-being of the community. No one, atmosphere of collective frenzy, the pa- ance of the first quarter of the moon ormale or female, is allowed to see it, ex- tient becomes feverish. He begins to risk falling ill again: outside his house, hecept for a few aged dignitaries. tremble and have violent convulsions, coats his body with the proper medicines The second type is the mukishi a ku speaking loudly and sometimes, if the and white clay, prays to the spirit, and mukanda, which plays a role in the spirit is foreign, incoherently. The cim- honors it with a sacrifice. These curative mukanda initiation. These masks, most of banda rubs him with medicine made from rituals vary according to the afflicting them of resin, are numerous and have a plants and clay, particularly the purify- spirit. The objects used to represent, variety of headdresses (Bastin 1961a: pls. ing white clay (pemba), which symbolizes shelter,and honor the spirit also vary, 233-41). They control the mukanda, keep innocence. ranging from trees and termite mounds women away from the ceremony, and, The spirit must leave the body if it is to to statuettes and masks. when necessary, fetch food prepared by be appeased. Exorcism is achieved when Mukishi the initiates' mothers from the village, the mwenji, feeling the hamba move prog- the women taking refuge in their homes ressively from his feet to his head, cries The Chokwe use the word mukishi (pl.