Ceremonial adze "khaandu" ·  D. R. Congo, Yaka · ID: 3036206

Description

wood, dark brown patina, metal, open worked handle in form of a human half figure with two arm pairs, holding an oblong item, the curved blade emerging from the back of the head, min. dam., fine cracks, slight traces of abrasion and corrosion;
insignia of a headman (“leemba”); used to be carried over the shoulder, when visiting lineage members. It could even have been part of the insignias of a regional chief or a “ngaanga ngombu” diviner.

Comparing literature

Bourgeois, Arthur P., Art of the Yaka and Suku, Paris 1984, p. 50 f., ill. 21