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- “LibGuides: 19th and 20th Century African Art: Bundu Mask.” Nok Head - Early African Art - LibGuides at Pascack Hills High School, phlibguides.pascack.org/c.php?g=730262&p=5215928.
- saloneheritage. “Sande Society Dance at Tuiyor, Sierra Leone.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 Aug. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn2CAA_sS6w&t=10s.
- Kwekudee. “TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE.” SAN (BUSHMEN) PEOPLE: THE WORLD MOST ANCIENT RACE/PEOPLE, Blogger, 19 July 2013, kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2013/07/mende-people-sierra-leones-educated-and.html.
- “Mende - Art & Life in Africa - The University of Iowa Museum of Art.” Art & Life in Africa - The University of Iowa Museum of Art, africa.uima.uiowa.edu/peoples/show/mende.

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- Through this piece, we can get a glimpse of the tradition that has been performed for centuries. We can understand the Mende culture better through this mask.

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- The mask is made of wood, metal, and pigment.
- When it is performed, raffia is used. Raffia is fiber that comes from palm trees.

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What are the components of a Bundu mask performance?

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What are the components of a Bundu mask performance?

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- Older woman of the society wear the mask with a raffia costume and are accompanied by musicians.

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What do the young girls do after being initiated by the mask?

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What do the young girls do after being initiated by the mask?

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- After learning many teachings about womanhood through the Bundu mask, young girls are expected to go off and marry a man and also have children.

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Is there a deity being represented by the mask?

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Is there a deity being represented by the mask?

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- The mask is believed to represent a female spirit that comes from the very bottoms of rivers and lakes.

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What Happens to the mask when it is not being used?

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What Happens to the mask when it is not being used?

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- When the mask is not being used in the ritual dance, it resides in the home of an older member of the Sende society.
- When it is not being performed by women, it loses its spiritual value.

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- The visibly large head of the mask represents the value of a woman's wisdom and the way she processes things.
- The small ears symbolize that a girl should not listen to gossip.

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- As mentioned before, the piece represents some of the characteristics a young girl should strive for.
- The rolls of fat of the mask represent the fact that the young girl has to gain weight to prepare for childbirth. While they are away, the young girls eat more than they normally do in order to gain weight.
- The small eyes represent that the girl should stay reserved.

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Video of the initiation process

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Sande Society Dance at Tuiyor, Sierra Leone

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- The shape of the mask is very interesting and has a lot to do with the function the mask itself.
- The mask is in the shape of a chrysalis. This is significant to the fact that before the girls receive teachings from this mask, they are not yet women. Just how when a developing butterfly is in a chrysalis, it is just barely taking its steps into being a fully developed butterfly.

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- When the young girls of the Mende tribe reach adolescence, they are taken by the Sende society into a secluded area in the forest. There, they would wear white clay in order to make them look attractive. The symbolism behind this is that they were not "little girls" anymore, but havent became a woman yet.
- While they are away, older women of the tribe perform a ritual dance during which women learn spiritual and life lessons.

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- A Bundu mask is a helmet mask made out of wood and pigment that is made and carved by men, but used solely by women to initiate young girls into maturity.
- This mask shows physical and spiritual characteristics that young girls should strive for as they reach maturity. For example, the closed mouth of the mask means they should not partake in gossip.

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- The Sende society teaches young girls the expectation of the Mende tribe and how to be a good member of society.
- Older women of the society teach young girls to do things such as how to be a good wife, how to cook, and how to raise their children.

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-The mende peoples are an ethnic group from Sierra Leone, Africa. They rely on oral tradition and are descendents of the ancient Mali tribe.
-Their education system is divided up by gender: the Poro and the Sende. The Poro society is for the men, and the Sende is for the women of the tribe.