Head sculpture of the snake cult ·  D. R. Congo, Kuyu · ID: 3048627

Description

wood, polychrome pigments, base

The Kuyu “dyo” (snake god) ceremonies show performances alternated between mimed sequences and dances. Different actors appear one after the other. Among them are the Eouya (the “snakemen”) and the primordial couple (“djokou”, the father and “ebotita”, the mother). At the end of the performance, the chief initatior reveals “ebongo”, father of the “eouya”.

Head sculptures, such as this one, were attached to staffs, which the dancers held with stretched out arms high above their heads, while their bodies were entirely concealed by raffia-cloth robes referred to as snakeskin.

According to Bénézech, “eouyas” dance is called “kébé-kébé” by the Western Kuyu. The performance marks the end of the boys’ initiation.

Comparing literature

Bénézech, Anne-Marie, "So-called Kuyu Carvings", in African Arts, Vol.XXII, no.1, 1988, p. 52 ff.