Divining instrument "kashekesheke" · D. R. Congo, Luba · ID: 3036460
sold
EUR 1,400
Provenance
Edouard d’Orjo de Marchovelette, Brussels, Belgium (1901-1985), territorial administrator, who served from 1925 till 1952 in the Belgian Congo. He collected mainly Luba and Lega objects.Didier Claes, Brussels, Belgium
Size
H: 14,5 cm
H: 5.7 inch
Description
wood, shiny brown patina, poker work, frame-like corpus with a rectangular hole in the middle, crowned by a stylized human head, min. dam., small missing parts, fine cracks, base;
Luba diviners use “kashekesheke” in order to solve social problems. Among groups to the north of Luba, most notably the Songye, a similar technique is called “katadora”. During a consultation, client and diviner together held the sculpture, which responded to their questions either yes or no.