Mask – Wood – Vuvi – Gabon

Like their neighbours (Kota, Fang and Punu), the Vuvi worship and venerate ancestors through a number of rituals and ceremonies called bwete to ensure the protection and survival of the village. The spirit association masks from the Vuvi are characterized by the relative flatness of their design and the emblematic nature of the facial features and markings. These masks serve as agents through which ancestral spirits reappear during ceremonies. The masks are believed to represent the spiritual entities of Kombe (the sun), Ngonde (the moon), Minanga (the stars) and Ngadi (thunder).