The Kwele tribe live in eastern Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Cameroon in Central Africa.  They have produced a famous type of mask called Ekuk. It displays a flat surface and often has a whitened heart-shaped face painted with white kaolin earth (associated with light and clarity), a triangular nose and coffee bean eyes. These masks were hung in their houses and rarely worn during dances related to the initiation ceremonies of the Bwete cult. Their function was to ‘warm up’ the village atmosphere in order to activate the beneficial forces resident in the Bwete box.  The Bwete was a box of ancestral relics.

Source:
Baquart, Jean-Baptiste. The Tribal Arts of Africa. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc. 1998. Print.