The African Archive - Beyond Colonization

Pierre Sanon

Sande Society Sowei (mask), Sierra Leone

Research Dates: 1/2025 - 5/2025
Website: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/159430

 

 

Masks are objects that both conceal, and present.

Let the Sowei tell you its story through slow and careful reveal.

Take your time and sit with each closeup. Let each one be its own chapter, its own moment…

 

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Introduction

 

This ideology is relevant to the culture, use, and geography that the sowei belongs to. The Sande sowei shows an abundance of significance in the aforementioned categories. Arguably, the sowei is the object to represent the Sande societies’ culture; it is the signifier of growth, change, and oral tradition among women in the society. The use of the mask is blatant in how it presents itself—to not only conceal during the religious ceremony that is the zenith of the Sande woman’s life, but in tandem present through spirituality. Concealment of the self with presentation of the new self, blessed by the various gods that the Sande worship.

Geographically, the mask’s material is a compilation of not only where it comes from (Sierra Leone), but in how the people of the coastal country interact with nature. The Sande society is a deeply complex group in terms of social hierarchy and currency, gender and sexuality, defining womanhood (through the relationship and social structure oppositional to the all male Poro society), and the value that becomes an amalgamation of all of these aspects.

Ultimately, masks make statements, and if we pay close attention to the sowei, it tells a rich story while (internally) actualizing the Sande people through hierarchy, tradition, and (social) value (concealment), and externally responding to the world through beauty, relationships with men, and spirituality (presentation).

 

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Sande society mask (sowei)

Artist: Unknown Sherbro artist

Dated: late 19th century

Place made: Sierra Leone

Material: Wood (cotton tree), pigment

Dimensions: 14 3/4 x 9 x 9 3/4 in. (37.5 x 22.9 x 24.8 cm)

Donor: Gift of Blake Robinson

Accession Number: 1998.127.1

Historical Preface

 

Tracing the origins of the Sande society is quite difficult, due to its history either being minimally documented through colonialism, or through oral tradition. One documented account by a Dutch geographer traces the Sande back to 1668, which was used by anthropologist to trace the Sande back to the Gola society before the spread out and assimilated into the Mende (Oyedokun, 2025). The entire Guinea coast was in a state of constant flux, with geography, ethnicity, and lineage shifting with land ownership (well into the 20th century). Essentially, this constant state of flux and attachment to power was the result of people fearing being pulled into the international slave trade (Bledsoe, 456-457). Landowners claimed their power through ancestry and spirituality (thematically relevant to the Sande), however this legitimacy was, and still is due to the overarching goal of the Sande to get as close to spirits and spirituality as possible. In short, the Sande is the most recent addition into the Mende, likely separating due to the respective gods they worship and the emphasis on gender opposition to the Poro.

 

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✦ Biography ✦

 

On Making

The creation of the sowei is a multi-step, collaborative process between the carver and the person who the mask is intended for. Multiple sources are very clear that the creation of the mask is a part of the worship and ceremony as well. Wood is selected and cut, measured by hands and palm leaves. Cottonwood is used due to its abundance around Sierra Leone, and that it is light and easy to carve. Although this seems primitive, the process has been used since the masks were created and has continued to work perfectly. The bark is then half buried by a digger and hollowed out, one of the most difficult parts of creation. To note, the lighter the mask is the more of an implication of the skill of the artist it is. The hollowed wood is then mapped out with an adze, or rectangular blade (Richards, 48). Artists  are bound to the traditions of the Sande, and cannot veer away too much in terms of design. The “compromise” is to slowly make changes through each new mask made. Eye slits are first, the intention of which is to make sure nothing of the wearer can be seen and also act as a guide to anatomy (along with the nose). Then the artist can carve out the rest of the face, making sure it is triangular and slight. The prominence of the forehead is intentional, and the hair is the only place where the artist has freedom (although he must have seen the hair used by a woman in the society). The last two features to be carved out are the ears (a “C” with a dot), and the neck lobes (Richards, 49). It is considered unethical to make a sowei without the lobes. Holes at the bottom are punctured to allow the raphia (thick black cloth covering) to be attached (Jȩdrej, 241). Lastly, the sowei is dyed or rubbed with oils and leaves, to both smooth it out and get it as dark as possible (this is because the dark color imitates teli, or wetness, which emulates the swamp where the spirits come from)(Jȩdrej, 241).

On Society

The social aspect of the Sande is incredibly strict, nuanced, and performative. The Sande fall under the umbrella of the Mende society, and are opposite the Poro (all male) society. The relationship to the Poro is quite important in reference to the Sande, as there is a binary system in the Sande twofold—the opposition to men and the preparation for them. Within the “bush” (a sacred grove or forest), women are taught about medicine, sexuality, reproduction, fertility, and the intricacies of being a wife (Bledsoe, 458). There is in fact a rank order in the Sande society, where elites are taught more and those below are taught just the bare minimum. Rank is decided only by lineage—it is not mutable in any way (this is a common West African or coastal concept). Ironically, the Sande elders are both opposing men and acting for them. This is potentially due to the fact that being a wife, virginity, and womanhood are leverages for the Sande society—the more of a “woman” they are, the more they can be a perfect wife, meaning they are more valuable and therefore can get more from the Poro men, who are typically the workers of the Mende (Bledsoe, 459). It is not all just about preservation and teaching(s) for a life of servitude to Poro men—Sande elders teach women (through medicine for example) how to poison their husbands; this, among other examples, are taught for the preservation and protection of the woman for themselves. The dichotomies of women and men, sexuality and gender are rife in the Sande society.

On Spirituality

Spirituality is the core of both the mask and the Sande society as a whole.  Almost everything can be traced back to the need for spiritual enlightenment or closeness to gods. When the artist makes the mask, it is an act of worship. When the women go into the bush, it is to be closer to the spirits in the forest and swamp. When the ritual is performed, it is so that the woman is considered a fully realized woman, but through the gods’ blessings. Sande spirits make four appearances during the Sande woman’s life: when the house in the forest is being built for the initiate and when the work is finished, during the rite of “gathering the medicinal leaves”, when a kendu, or funeral procession (which is being held, not literally, for the “corpses” of the clitoris, and during this time the spirits are considered to be agitated), and lastly when the ceremonial right of womanhood is performed. During this ceremony, the woman is draped in the rafia and sowei, and dances, also a signifier of the woman becoming a bride (Jȩdrej, 241). Spirits (or ngafanga) are plentiful in the Sande worship, but there are two that are considered the most distinct. The ancestral spirits, which are invisible but extraordinarily powerful and dangerous, and live in the depths of the bush; these spirits are who the masks attempt to emulate, and are seen as “task diviners”, or those that use their powers in the interest of their descendants. The other distinct type of spirit (called dwarves) are visible and harmless, and are considered to be controlled by humans; these dwarves are in actuality women dressed in the sowei and rafia. All types of spirits are considered to be occupants of a mediating position, and this essentially is the core value  of the sowei and ceremony it is used in (Jȩdrej, 236).

On Gender

(Trigger warning on mutilation in this section) Gender is almost everything to the Sande women. The preparation for a woman to become a wife involves a controversial application, which is still being practiced to this day. In order to delineate the purpose of female genitalia, female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced, where the clitoris of the woman is removed. This is to teach the women of the Sande that sex is not meant to be a pleasurable endeavor, it is strictly for the purpose of fertility and childbearing. Another practice within the bush is that, right before the ritual is performed, females are “washed” to prepare them for the man they are supposed to be with (Bledsoe, 464). These practices are quite extreme, and are not only extremely painful and dangerously hard to recover from, but if done incorrectly, women can and have died. The woman who is going to go through mutilation does not even get to decide if they want to do it—Sande elders and doctors do (Bjälkande et. al., 120). With the involvement of doctors, this becomes problematic, as the mutilation then becomes “medicalized”, giving it validity, and leaves them vulnerable to long term health issues (Bjälkande et. al., 121). This is likely due to the fact that, in order to be a member of the Sande, it is required.

On Beauty

Eurocentric beauty standards have skewed the perception(s) of the sowei to be seen as something exotic, otherworldly and almost inhumane. It is true that some of the features are made to be exaggerated (such as the triangular portion of the nose, eyes, lips), but this is to emulate the gods they are imaging the mask after. The large forehead, scarification, hair, and neck lobes are all intentional and meant to purvey what the Mende consider beautiful. As previously mentioned, it is strictly prohibited for the neck lobes to be left out, as they are not only a perpetuation of beauty, but are also meant to signify health and wealth (Richards, 51). Hair is very important to the Sande women, and they are encouraged to take the utmost care of their hair throughout their life. This is why the decoration and individualization of hair within the creation of the mask is allowed. Scarification is also intentional, as it is seen as another beauty standard. The rejection and detachment of naturalism is perpetuated by these individual aspects, especially the exaggeration of the forehead (Richards, 49). Ultimately, one of the main purposes of Sande society is to achieve physical and spiritual beauty, and the mask acts as a tangible piece to all of the nuance of beauty in the society.

 

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✦ Curator’s Conclusion ✦

 

One thing I have avoided talking about during the curation of this object is the secrecy aspect of the Sande. This has been intentional; while most of what is reported is public knowledge, the year the Sande woman spend in the bush is considered protected knowledge through oral tradition. Outsiders have spent time in the bush with the woman, learning their teachings through the intimacy of the bush. However, within the overarching principle of storytelling in curation, I choose to tell the story of the mask in a way that denotes respect for the Sande women. Mentioned earlier is the fact that masks conceal and present. There is so much to glean from this object, each section its own story, just as important as the one before and after it. If the Sande women want to preserve these teachings and happenings in the bush, then that is a part of the story of the sowei. Colonialist ideology would tell us to forgo this practice—however, while information is very valuable and preservation equally so, we are not entitled to these things. We are not entitled to invade and narrate in new ways. This is the crux of masking—masks are objects that want to be seen, studied, interpreted and appreciated. Yet we often forget that there is something or someone underneath. It is okay to acknowledge that this is true, but again, we are not entitled to what is underneath, lest the wearer wants us to be privy. I wanted to let the sowei tell the story it wanted to, not just the story I wanted to tell. The sowei is a deeply cultural, nuanced object that involves craftsmanship, spiritually and society into its very graining, and I am honored to have held it and studied it.

 

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(Right) Photogrammetry 360 View of Sowei ☞

 

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(Below) Gallery of Sowei ☟

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

Bjälkande, Owolabi, et al. “Female Genital Mutilation in Sierra Leone: Who Are the Decision Makers?” African Journal of Reproductive Health / La Revue Africaine de La Santé Reproductive, vol. 16, no. 4, 2012, pp. 119–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23485781. Accessed 13 May 2025.

 

Bledsoe, Caroline. “The Political Use of Sande Ideology and Symbolism.” American Ethnologist, vol. 11, no. 3, 1984, pp. 455–72. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/644626. Accessed 13 May 2025.

 

Jȩdrej, M. C. “Structural Aspects of a West African Secret Society.” Journal of Anthropological Research, vol. 32, no. 3, 1976, pp. 234–45. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3629561. Accessed 13 May 2025.

 

“Liberia: FGM Continues in Rural Secrecy.” Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity, no. 77, 2008, pp. 102–102. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27739439. Accessed 13 May 2025.

 

Montle, M. E. “Debunking Eurocentric Ideals of Beauty and Stereotypes against African Natural Hair(Styles): An Afrocentric Perspective.” Journal of African Foreign Affairs, vol. 7, no. 1, 2020, pp. 111–27. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26976619. Accessed 13 May 2025.

 

“Poro and Sande: The Secret Societies of West Africa.” Africa Rebirth, 30 Apr. 2025, https://www.africarebirth.com/poro-and-sande-the-secret-societies-of-west-africa/.

 

Richards, J. V. Olufemi. “The Sande Mask.” African Arts, vol. 7, no. 2, 1974, pp. 48–51. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3334724. Accessed 13 May 2025.

 

Sierra Leone | Culture, History, Maps, Languages, & People | Britannica. 8 May 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Sierra-Leone.