Makonde / Touba, Body mask. Tanzania and Mozambique. Measures 63.5 x 32 x 18cm SOLD mong the Makonde initiation is still one of the most important ritual cycles. Both boys and girls must undergo a period of seclusion qenerally six months, during which they learn songs and dances and are taught various practical activities. The initiation rites involve male circumcision and indoctrination into the secrets of gender. Everyone is taught the rules of adult behaviour, about sex and about the rights and obligations of married life. The celebrations that accompany the coming-out ceremonies involve feasting, dance and the masquerades of the midimu (singular: ndimu) spirit maskers. The female body mask was part of the costume of a special ndimu masker called anwalindembo that was intended to represent a young pregnant woman. It was usually carved with a swollen abdomen decorated with the typical Makonde raised tattoos applied with beeswax and was always worn by a male masquerader accompanied by a matching female face mask. The amwalindembo performed a sedate dance, usually accompanied by a male ndimu masker, which dramatised the agonies of childbirth. Although the body mask is no longer in use today, dramatic scenes depicting various aspects of the of community life continue to be performed by masked or maskless performers during celebrations. Bibliography: Wembah-Rashid, 1971