Kovave mask
The Elema people of the Gulf of Papua in southeast New Guinea formerly practiced an elaborate cycle of masked rituals. The fearsome and comical Kovave mask depicted on the cover can be seen at the Living and Dying exhibition in the Wellcome Trust Gallery at the British Museum. Such masks were used during the initiation ceremonies of young Elema boys.
Reproduced by kind permission of the British Museum. (Copyright British Museum.)
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