Small standing male figure ·  D. R. Congo, Bembe · ID: 3034648

Description

wood, brown patina, blackened in parts, eyes with porcelain inlay, min. dam., missing parts (neck plait), crack backside, acrylic socle;
the opening on the back was used by the “nganga” to give vital force to the figure, afterwards it was filled with magical material: “bilongo” (medicine) or relics of an ancestor (hair, pieces of finger nails or bones) as a symbol of the power and spirit of the deceased relative. Afterwards the opening was closed by a piece of fabric or a plug. As long as the spirit stayed within the statue, it watched over his descendants and punished contempts against customs and rules. Belonging to the so-called “crypto-power figures”, a terminology introduced by William Fagg.