Mwiri (Punu regulatory society)
Male regulatory and initiatory society of the Punu that controls access to the *okuyi* masquerade and the *ikwara* judiciary function; the institutional frame for the Punu mask corpus.
Mwiri is the male regulatory association of the Punu. Membership is by initiation; the society keeps community order, controls social norms and performs anti-sorcery justice. Mwiri is the institutional frame within which Punu masks have meaning: a mask separated from mwiri ownership and protocol is decontextualised, and any rigorous attribution of an okuyi or ikwara should consider the society's authority over the mask's production and performance.
Mwiri should not be confused with bwiti, the iboga-based initiation tradition widespread across Gabon (practised by the Mitsogho, Fang, Punu, Apindji, Eshira and Kota) and officially recognised by the Gabonese state. Mwiri is Punu-specific and regulatory; bwiti is pan-Gabonese and spiritual. Conflating the two is a recurring error in dealer and auction literature.