Rare ancestor figure "gheonga" · Gabon, Tsogho/ Sango · ID: 3044745
not available anymore
Provenance
Christie’s, Paris, 15 Juin 2002, lot 214Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 7 September 2013, lot 304
Private Collection, Munich, Germany
Size
H: 65 cm
H: 25.6 inch
Description
wood, black and white pigment, rep.
Sculpture of the Tsogho is invariably associated with initiation societies, at which the “bwiti” society has top priority. The “bwiti” cult is spread all over the whole of Central Gabon. “Bwiti” has no initiation rites in classical meaning, but an initiation through taking “iboga”, a hallucinogenic plant.
The statuettes were kept in the men’s house, together with all the other objects which were needed for the “bwiti” cult. At funeral rites or rites held in favour of a good harvest the statues were displayed inside the men’s house.