some more on the Salampasu (Asalampasu, Basalampasu, Mpasu, Sala Mpasu) and their masks:
Ceremonial mask: a warrior people comprising 60,000 individuals, the Salampasu live in Shaba province between the rivers Lulua and Lueta, tributaries of the Kasai River. Their name is said to mean “hunters of locusts”, but they were widely viewed with terror by adjacent groups.
They are constituted by independent lineages, without a centralized system of power.
The chiefs are chosen from among those who have shown the most aptitude for leadership. They have retained the customs of a rough and primitive life. The Salampasu live mostly from hunting, but the women do some farming.
The masks, regardless of their material composition, are worn in the initiation rites of men’s associations, on occasion of bereavement or enthronement, as well as to pay homage to headhunters. The costume, composed of animal skins, feathers, and fibers, is as important as the mask itself. Salampasu masquerades were held in wooden enclosures decorated with anthropomorphic figures carved in relief.
The Mugongo society of warriors is responsible for the protection of Salampasu communities; society members protect against invasion from rival clans or other external forces. To become a member of Mugongo, Salampasu boys must be circumcised and pass through its various initiation sub-societies, the highest of which is the society called Matambu (within which the highest initiate level is called the Mukish).
Each initiation sub-society has an associated mask type which the boys gain access to upon completing the initiation level and paying an initiation fee. Associated with the Ibuku initiation level, kasangu masks are only available to warriors that have killed and decapitated an enemy in battle.
Distinguishing Features:
Headdress made of balls of cane
Carved of wood and painted
Sometimes painted white with kaolin clay
Others have surface painted, red, black or divided into black and red sections
Domed forehead
Sunken eye sockets
Tubular ears
Large, broad triangular nose
Pierced nostrils
Aggressive mouth
Material often wood, copper sheets, vegetable fiber
enclosed a link by LUC LEFEBVRE with some excellent masks (and alspo other very beautiful info:
http://ethnotribalart.com/)
http://lulef.free.fr/Masques/#masque...pasu%20(1).JPG