Standing female figure ·  D. R. Congo, Kasai, Lulua · ID: 3048162

Description

wood, collection number “FX97914”, rest., base

This figure is covered with a sticky patina and has traces of red pigment on it.

Figures of particularly beautiful stature, whose attractiveness was enhanced by rubbing them with a mixture of oil, red earth and lime, were often used by a cult called “bwanga bwa bwimpe.”

“Bwimpe” means “beauty”. Beauty should be understood as a combination of external physical beauty and internal (moral or ethical) goodness. The combination of moral and aesthetic qualities was ultimately believed to offer the best protection agains sorcery or evil.

Publications

AHDRC: 0176313