Angola / 1993
The akishi spirits of the Chokwe
The akishi spirits of the Chokwe
The Smithsonian catalogs The akishi spirits of the Chokwe as articles in its Makishi records.
WHY IT’S INTERESTING
Among the Chokwe of Angola and Congo, masks personify akishi (makishi), or ancestral spirits and other forces of nature. Akishi take many forms and are known by distinct names. Bastin discusses this repertoire of Chokwe masks, the familiar wood masks and less familiar resin masks, the sacred and the secular, and the initiation masquerades and the entertainment masquerades. She also makes reference