Title: Sowei mask
Item Type: helmet mask
Key Words: Sowei, Bondu, Bundu, Mende, Sande, Sierra Leone, Kenneth Little, mask
Dimensions: 46cm x 23cm
Materials: Wood and potentially vegetable dye
Description:
A wooden helmet mask. It possesses neck rings, a detailed coiffure, downcast eyes and a composed facial expression that are typical of the sowei mask. This particular example has a particularly long neck, with ten neck rings. The eyelids are considerably larger than the nose, pursed lips, and ears. There are three scarification marks on each cheek and eight scarification marks on the forehead. The mask has an ornate plaited hairstyle, with three protruding circular parts engraved with a spiral motif, two on each side of the head and one at the back. The mask has two horn-like protrusions between the circular protrusions.
Function:
Sowei masks are attributed to the Sande (also known as Bundu or Bondo), an all-female secret society in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and the Ivory Coast. The mask is worn during the end of girls’ initiation ceremonies when a ritual dance is performed by the society leader – the ndole jowei (dancing sowei). Usually worn with a raffia costume, the identity of the wearer is entirely concealed. It is believed that the sowei mask represents ideals of feminine beauty, with the full forehead representing wisdom and intellect, and the ringed neck embodying physical beauty in Mende society. This mask is likely a Mende sowei mask from Sierra Leone.
Production Methods and Techniques:
Sowei masks are carved from a single piece of wood and hollowed out so it can fit over the wearer’s head. They are dyed with vegetable dye for a darker tint on the mask. Though sowei masks are exclusively worn by women in Mende society, they are carved by men. The carving of a sowei is considered a challenge in Mende society, due to the variance in carving and the special status attributed to the sowei masks. Each carver tends to have their own personal style, where they have the opportunity to demonstrate their artistic skill.
Condition:
Fair. There is some discolouration and signs of aging on the wood. There is a chip on the left horn.
Provenance
Name of creator:Unknown
Where the item was created/made:
Sierra Leone, but potentially in the Bo District where Kenneth Little was based for much of his fieldwork.
Date Made:
Unknown, but it is likely to have been made during or prior to the 1940s, when Kenneth Little performed his ethnographic fieldwork in Sierra Leone.
Acquisition:
We believe that the object was acquired by Professor Kenneth Little during his fieldwork in Sierra Leone. The object was brought to the University of Edinburgh and was donated to the Social Anthropology Teaching Collection. The nature of this acquisition is unknown.
Acquisition Date:
It was likely acquired in 1945 or late 1946 during Kenneth Little’s fieldwork in Sierra Leone. It was likely donated to the Social Anthropology Teaching Collection after Kenneth Little joined the University of Edinburgh in 1950.
Current Location: 5th floor of Chrystal MacMillan Building on display.
General Notes
Sowei masks are given a name in Mende society, but we do not know the name of this specific mask.
Sources:
Little, K. L. (1949). ‘The Role of the Secret Society in Cultural Specialization.’ American Anthropologist, 51, no. 2: 199–212.
Otto, Kristin. (2020) ‘Creating the Sowei: Repairing and Interpreting Sowei Masks in Global Assemblages.’ Order No. 28027290, Indiana University.
Phillips, R. B. (1979) ‘The Sande Society Masks of the Mende of Sierra Leone.’ PhD diss., School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Reinhart, L. (1975) ‘Mende Carvers’. PhD diss., Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Recommended Sites for Further Research:
Sierra Leone Heritage
Name of Cataloguer: Zahra Abdalla
Date: 06/03/2025
Accession Number: SA030