Ritual whistle "nsiba" · D. R. Congo, Yombe · ID: 3033970
sold
EUR 5,200
Provenance
John J. Klejman, New York, 1970s or earlierAmerican Private Collection, New York
Size
H: 20,5 cm
H: 8.1 inch
Description
wood, rich blackish brown patina, in shape of an animal horn with striations at the base, crowned by a small standing figure with snake, head in profile, rep. (right arm, left wrist), on base;
in shape of a whistle. Ritual specialists and diviners use the whistle in their rituals as a tool with which one can communicate with spirits and the dead. The sound it emits is considered to go straight to a supernatural realm.
Comparing literature
Maurer, Evan, Batulukisi, Niangi, Spirits Embodied, Minneapolis 1999, p. 65, ill. 9