Helmet mask

Mende artist · Mid-20th century

Sowei masks, unlike most African masks, are actually worn by women. They epitomize Mende ideals of feminine beauty and related moral values. The elaborate hairstyle is a sign that the woman is a good person whose close friends helped adorn her. The neck rings represent either rings admired as marks of beauty or ripples of water--the disturbance created when the Sande leader draws Sowei from her water home. The pith helmet and guns relate it to hunting and perhaps suggest the protective aspect of Sowei.