Seated female figure "wayinda" · D. R. Congo, Lega · ID: 3042424
John J. Klejman, New York, USA (1969)
Michel Boulanger, Liege, Belgium
Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels, Belgium (2014)
Description
wood, brown patina, traces of black paint, kaolin, with spherically bulging belly, incised scarification marks on the back, coiffure from fur, min. dam., abrasion of paint, base;
present figure does not portray a fertility figure (as is often said) nor a “normally” pregnant woman, but a pregnant adulteress or a pregnant woman on whom weighs a curse because of her illicit behaviour. Her comportment has created some form of ritual pollution of which she and others in the family may be victims. Sometimes when a man falls sick, the oracles may stipulate that it is because of his wifes failure. In case he dies as the result of sickness, his wife must pass through an ordeal: either drink water with which the corpse was washed, sleep on his tomb or eat from an antelope that was hung above his tomb.
Comparing literature
Cameron, Elisabeth L., Art of the Lega, Los Angeles 2001, p. 158