Masque Fang - Fang Mask

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The Ngil Society utilized these masks in both initiation rituals and to combat sorcerers and malefactors. The masks, crafted through sculpture and pyroengraving from a piece of wood, are characterized by elongated forms. Due to the lack of knowledge regarding these masks, the tradition was abandoned. Typical Fang south masks feature pyroengraved motifs on the cheeks, which record tattoos documented by Günter Tessman among Fang populations such as the Mvai and Nutmu in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. In contrast, white face paint (kaolin) refers to death, an allusion to ancestors, incarnating a deceased person's spirit (Hahner-Herzog et al 1997).