The Mende people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone. Their tribe is divided into two societies: the poro, or men’s society, and sande, the women’s society. Both societies are engaged in ensuring that boys and girls respectively grow up with the skills and moral values appropriate to their gender. Upon graduation from the society, initiands are eligible to get married and to become parents. During the girls’ initiation, songs and dances are performed by the elder women, wearing special helmet-masks known as sowei. These masks completely cover the face, and contained a long ruff of black raffia that completely covered the body. The masks were a visual connection to the spirit world; any semblance of humanity was lost beneath the black of the mask.

This sowei mask represents the height of feminine beauty for the Mende. She has a thick neck, with rolls of fat, signifying the desire for plumpness as a sign of wealth and prosperity. In fact, the prominence of these neck-rings was emphasized by the wearing of tight thread around the neck. Her face is small and her features are delicate, with eyes downcast, small ears (of which one is missing), and mouth tightly closed to represent the silence of the spirit world. The forehead is round, and there are crow’s-feet at the corners of the eyes. She has an elaborate hairstyle consisting of multiple styles and decorative items. Around the fringe is a braid, which finishes behind the ears. Above that, her hair is divided into vertical and horizontal sections. She wears a headdress made up of large roundels on straps, and has two large beads at the front of her hair. On top is another elaborate headdress, consisting of five round parts rising up from the crown of the head. Atop the entire ensemble is a small bird. The mask is painted black using a dark vegetable dye. At the bottom of the piece are a selection of small holes, for the attaching of the raffia skirt.

Although carved by men, sowei masks were used exclusively by females. This is unusual in Africa, where masqueraders are almost exclusively men. The unique sande society is one of very few semi-secret initiation societies open only to women. In Sierra Leone and western Liberia, each town has a sande society that includes all of the women in the community. It represents them and binds them together as a powerful social and political force. The sande society is one of the most important patrons of the arts in West Africa.