Standing figure "katanda" · D. R. Congo, Lega · ID: 3042137
Bernhard Jäger, Frankfurt a. M., Germany
Description
wood, brown patina, dark paint remains, arm stretched upward, a neckless, elongated head inbetween, body covered by circular drillings, min. dam., small missing parts, traces of abrasion;
used in high-level initiation ceremonies of the “bwami” society to teach a highly developed code of ethics and morals that formed the base of Lega social order.
“Katanda” means “Mr. Mat” and represents a woven mat, used primarily as a bed. Good sleeping mats are clean and intact, so the holes in this particular figure alert us to a problem. The holes made by army ants imply that the owner war lazy and sleeping when or where he should not have been. The message the figure gives is negative and warns against evil, laziness and loose morals.
The object Standing figure “katanda” with the object ID 3042137 was last part of the auction 86th Tribal Art Auction at May 27, 2017 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 146 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,500.
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Comparing literature
Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, p. 283, ill. 150
Publications
AHDRC: 0142032