Standing female ancestor figure "beli" · D. R. Congo, Mangbetu, Area of Uele · ID: 3038222
Jean-Pierre Jernander, Brussels, Belgium
Merton Simpson, New York, USA
Description
light wood, middle brown patina, metal ear ornament, stocky body, the left arm backwards, characteristic hairstyle serving to highlight the head’s deformation, face and body decorated with ornamental scarifications in pokerwork, ankles and knees especially accentuated, slightly dam. (nosetip, upper lip), base;
the Mangbetu settle along the banks of Bomokandi River in Northeastern Zaire. Im former times they had a prosperous kingdom. Mangbetu art in general is court-oriented, and was reserved for the ruling classes. It reflected wealth, and prestige of its owners and therefore was mainly restricted on the design of basic commodities and ritual objects. Figures are rather rare and can be looked upon as ancestor figures in general. Their style is affected by a lengthened skull, the most outstanding beauty ideal of Mangbetu aristocracy. Individuals of advanced age among the Mangbetu still designate these statues by the name “beli”. According to them, they were used in hidden locals by the secret society of the name “nebeli”. The rare witnesses we have to these “nebeli” rites confirm the existence of statuettes of spirits or ancestors, kept at these secret places.
Comparing literature
Baeke, Viviane (ed.), Treasures from the Africa-Museum Tervuren, Tervuren 1995, ill. 223 Kerchache, Jacques, Paudrat, Jean-Louis u.a., Die Kunst des Schwarzen Afrika, Freiburg, Basel, Wien 1988, p. 581 Burssens, Herman, Mangbetu, Afrikaanse hofkunst uit Belgische privé-verzamlingen, Brussels 1992, ill. 43