Memorial figure of a female dignitary "ngudi" ·  D. R. Congo, Yombe · ID: 3036575

Description

wood, honey brown patina, mirror glass, kneeling, short stump-like arms, raised scarification marks on the belly and on the back, fez-like headdress, filed incisors, fine crack, base;
present figure was not created as a magical figure (“nkisi”) but rather as a commemorative figure for a highly esteemed female ancestor venerated for being the female founder of a lineage. Such sculptures, called “ngudi” (mother of the lineage) used to be kept in baskets together with further relics belonging to the community. The sculpture was probably presented on important occasions like the first appearance of marriageable women after their time of seclusion in the initiation camp.

Comparing literature

Schmalenbach, Werner (Hg.), Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Barbier-Mueller, Genf, München 1988, p. 238