Makonde

The Makonda belong to the Bantu people who originally lived south of Lake Nyassa and later migrated to their present location on the Mueda plateau in northern Mozambique. They survive economically from farming and, occasionally, cattle rearing. Makonde carvers are prolific producers of masks, statues, and decorative objects.

The most famous Makonde masks are the helmet masks which are used to mark a boy's initiation into adulthood. These masks, called Lipico, have realistic features and are often inset with hair and decorated with wax facial scarifications. Facial and body masks are usually associated with the Makonde people living in Tanzania. The former frequently represents a woman's face with a lip plug, while the latter is carved to appear as a body of a pregnant woman. These masks are also thought to be worn during boys' initiation ceremonies.

The Makonde of Tanzania and Mozambique are separarted by the Rovuma River and are culturally distinct. Immigration from Mozambique to Tanzania has resulted in a blurring of ethnic identities and a sharing of certain ideas. Because of the relative isolation of their homeland, the first contacts with Europeans did not occur until 1910, and then they were very sporadic. The coastal location of the Makonde, however, indicates that they were involved with Swahili slave traders for centuries. Recently, enclaves of Makonde have developed on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam and of Kambia in Kenya, although they seem to limit their interaction with outsiders, preferring to identify with their own cultural traditions.