“Mathom [Matorma] (Limba Devil) and Ghongorli, National Dance Troupe, Aberdeen, Freetown”, Sierra Leone, 2008. Photograph by Phyllis Galembo.
Ghongorli, more commonly known as Kongoli or Gongoli masks (on the right in the picture), are large, crudely shaped masks that come out to provide light entertainment, particularly during more solemn occasions such as funerals. It is not particular to any one cultural group in Sierra Leone.
“Kongoli Masks are among a very common group of masks which come from the south and east of Sierra Leone. In contrast to Sowei masks, which represent a serene and solemn embodiment of female beauty, the guardian spirit of the women’s society, Kongoli masks represent something much more unruly, much more unkempt and this is because they provide a light relief to the solemnity of the Sowei […] Their use is essentially an entertainment, they provide a contrast, both in appearance […], but also in behavior. Whereas the Sowei moves about smoothly, never speaks, the Kongoli in fact struts about, wearing white raffia, but in the case of the Kongoli, only strands of raffia, which doesn’t [fully] conceal the person who’s wearing the mask, often with a staff in his hand, and speaking loudly and pompously to the spectators. So the Kongoli mask engages quite closely with the spectators and the spectators, enjoying his antics, laugh.”
-Kongoli Mask - Curator's Notes with Bill Hart
"Mathom", more commonly known as "Matorma" (pictured left), is described, as a 'devil' belonging to the Gbangbani Secret Society of the Limba people, tasked with seeking out witchdoctors and other evil-doers.
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