Small standing male figure "mukuya" ·  D. R. Congo, Bembe · ID: 3037702

Description

wood, brown patina, blackened in parts, holding a horn with the left and a ceremonial knife with the right hand, eyes with white porcelain inlay, typical body scarifications, cavity (crypto fetish), min. dam., fine cracks, slight traces of abrasion;
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.

Comparing literature

Lehuard, Raoul & Alain Lecomte, Sculpture Babembe, Paris 2010, p. 149