Art African Statue Fetish Bakongo

Description

Ref: sf-1413
Height: 27
CM
Description:
Fetish statuette Bakongo from Congo DRC. Piece over 50 years old.
Among the Kongo, the minkisi (sing. nkisi) are probably the most extensive class of spirits. Until today, it has given rise to the production of a large number of sculptures which are veritable "force objects" intended to act on the world and on all the beings that inhabit it. The anthropomorphic minkisi constitute only a fraction of it, undoubtedly the best known because it has always attracted the interest of ethnographers and collectors. If they are sculpted by artists, they will only be sacred, shaped, "armed" with magical substances and manipulated by specialists in the ritual called nganga. These are socially recognized in Kongo culture as useful. They respond to various requests from individuals who feel distressed or threatened by evil spirits. For example, a nganga will use his minkisi to restore hunting success to a hunter, to find and neutralize a sorcerer who threatens the life of his client or to protect a village from thefts and assaults. Some are used to settle conflicts between people, between families or between clans. Of all the types of minkisi, the minkisi nkondi are recognized as the most aggressive force objects, which can be used for violent attacks that can lead to death. Their distinctive sign is an arm wielding a knife or a spear. The many nails that cover the surface of these objects were not related to the harm that we wanted to do to their victims, but with the pain that we wanted to inflict on the mind of the nkisi so that it- ci gets angry and starts to pursue and persecute the named victim! During the spirit invocation ritual, the nganga could also throw brandy or gunpowder in the eyes of the figure to further irritate it and also to insult it. The most important magical substances, the symbolic aspects of which refer to the qualities of the spirit, are found encapsulated behind a mirror on the abdomen. Mirrors, like white clay or the opening of certain sea shells, refer to the world of ancestors, a virtual world under the surface of the water, the opposite of the world of the living.
African art, African mask
Piece delivered with an invoice and a certificate of authenticity.
African art african tribal arte africana afrikanische kunst
Among the Kongo, the minkisi (sing. nkisi) are probably the most extensive class of spirits. Until today, it has given rise to the production of a large number of sculptures which are veritable "force objects" intended to act on the world and on all the beings that inhabit it. The anthropomorphic minkisi constitute only a fraction of it, undoubtedly the best known because it has always attracted the interest of ethnographers and collectors. If they are sculpted by artists, they will only be sacred, shaped, "armed" with magical substances and manipulated by specialists in the ritual called nganga. These are socially recognized in Kongo culture as useful. They respond to various requests from individuals who feel distressed or threatened by evil spirits. For example, a nganga will use his mi