Ritual staff of the "khimba" initiation society ·  D. R. Congo, Bakongo · ID: 3046457

Description

wood, encrusted patina, kaolin, fabric, nut shells, plant fibre, base

The “Janus” effigies are called “thafu malungu” and represent the first male initiates “Matundu” and “Malanda”.They grip sticks behind their necks, referring to those used during initiation rites to beat the initiates.

The object Ritual staff of the “khimba” initiation society with the object ID 3046457 was last part of the auction 94th Tribal Art Auction at March 7, 2020 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 70 achieved a sales price of EUR 800.

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Comparing literature

Felix, Marc L. (ed.), Kongo Kingdom Art, China 2003, p. 107

Publications

AHDRC: 0170759