Magical figure "mvunzi" ·  D. R. Congo, Holo · ID: 3034138

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Description

wood, reddish brown patina, traces of black paint, cape of bead-netting, cavities in breast, ears, head and on the underside (“crypto-fetish”) for insertion of magical substances, slightly dam., on metal plate;
“mvunzi” figures should protect humans against certain evil spirits. The main fortuneteller usually possesses such “mvunzi” who employs them in cases of sickness, for theft or for the hunt. In many cases, for example with theft, a “mvunzi” possesses not only a protective function, but also an offensive character by acting against the evil spirit by imposing on it an even greater evil.

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Publications

Neyt, Francois, Die Kunst der Holo, München 1982, p. 69, Fig. 28

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