Power half-figure "nkisi" · D. R. Congo, Songye · ID: 3040939
Hans Reinmöller, Ratingen, Germany (1994)
Description
heavy wood, rich blackish brown slightly sticky patina, loincloth from fine raffia cloth, fixed by plant fibre cord, animal horn on the head, round cavity closed with blackish mass at the same place, drilled holes in both ears, slightly dam., cracks;
to the Songe, the figure was a receptacle for the active ingredients “bijimba”, that would be added to the image by a ritualist “nganga”. Once completed the charm would be inserted into cavities in the figures head or abdomen or wrapped around the figure in small bundles. Once the figure was no longer deemed efficacious, it would be disposed of. Often the charm would be removed and destroyed by a ritualist, leaving only the carved figure, which now had no value to the Songe at all, as it had no longer had any functional purpose.