Mask (Pwoom Itok)

This mask may have represented a wise older man at boys’ initiations. One of the principal Kuba dance masks is called pwoom itok. The chief identifying characteristic is the shape of the eyes, whose centers are cones surrounded by holes through which the wearer sees. Like many Kuba types of masks, pwoom itok is extensively polychromed, or multicolored. This example has a cane headdress covered with raffia cloth with painted designs and detached wooden ears. The top of the headdress was probably originally adorned with feathers, like those worn by high-ranking persons.