Tribal Art

It is for aesthetic purposes that the ears, as well as the lips, were deformed with the help of labrets among the Makonde tribal groups. This female effigy with a slender morphology shows an infant. Facial tattoos were drawn with beeswax, and scarified patterns were also printed for aesthetic purposes. This statue symbolizing an ancestor also refers to creation, according to which the first Makonde man carved a female image that became the mother of his children and has been venerated ever since.
Orange-brown patina, residual ochre inlays.
The Makonde, a matrilineal Bantu population of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania, wore helmet-masks called lipiko, mapiko , during initiation ceremonies for young men. The Makonde venerate an ancestor , which explains the abundance of relatively naturalistic female statuary. In addition to facial masks, midimu , the Makonde also produce body masks featuring the female bust, exalting fertility.