Bundu / Sowei Helmet Mask (Mende peoples)

Bundu or Sowei Helmet Mask (Ndoli Jowei), Mende, Nguabu Master (Moyamba district, 塞拉利昂), late 19th-early 20th century, wood and pigment, 39.4 X 23.5 X 26 厘米 (布鲁克林博物馆) 扬声器: 博士. Peri Klemm and Dr. Steven Zucker

Sowei refers most specifically to medicine—the kind of medicine that female healers/herbalists utilize. Embodied in this idea of medicine is a spiritual force. The mask, when danced, is a visual expression of this spirit. The term also refers to the custodian of the medicine — a Sande official.