Makonde Mask with Hair Tanzania

This mask is made out of hand-carved wood. It contains dyed black grass to mimic hair.

The Makonde of Tanzania and Mozambique are one of the most prolific art producing peoples in eastern Africa. One of the most prominent of these arts are the life size helmet masks called Lipico, which are worn on the top of the head partially covering the face and slightly tipped upward so that the dancer can see. Masks play a prominent role in Makonde life, serving to mark the end of the initiation and circumcision cycle for boys as they move into manhood. The Lipico masks show a wide range of Makonde life and society as they depict initiates, villagers, coastal Arabs, and colonial officials. Usually, Makonde will embellish their masks with human hair (as on the mask illustrated here). They will sometimes insert pegs for teeth, whiten the eyes, and, in a quest for realism, often show human deformities. Sometimes they have a lip plug, which Makonde men used to wear. They are decorated with patterns of scarification in the form of zig-zag designs on the forehead and on the sides of the face.

This elaborate scarification marks various stages of an initiation passage into full maturity and adult responsibility; it literally marks a man's advancement in social, political, and ritual status. This scarification is represented most often by the application of thin lines of wax or, as in this mask, by carving onto the surface of the mask. The wood used in the production of Lipico mask is called njala.

The Makonde people, residing in both Tanzania and Mozambique, are known for their distinct cultural identity. Separated by the Rovuma River, these communities have developed their own unique traditions, although immigration from Mozambique to Tanzania has led to some cultural blending and the sharing of ideas.

Historically, the Makonde people maintained a relatively isolated homeland, which limited their contact with Europeans until around 1910. However, due to their coastal location, they had long-standing interactions with Swahili slave traders over the centuries.

Nowadays, we observe the emergence of Makonde enclaves on the outskirts of major cities like Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Kambia in Kenya. While these communities have settled in these urban areas, they tend to maintain a certain level of separation from outsiders, preferring to uphold their own cultural traditions.