Standing figure "mbwoolu"

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Description

wood, blackish brown patina, red pigment “khula”, elongated cylindrical trunk with physical deformity (arms), head with “bweni” headdress and tribe-typical facial features, slightly dam., minor missing parts (nose, left ear), fine crack (left side of the head), abrasion of paint, base;
“mbwoolu” figures were used for healing illnesses. The figures always show physical deformities such as missing limbs, expanding body sections, janus-form, or spiralled torsi. The latter symbolizes belly ache or a general feeling of malady.

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Comparing literature

Bourgeois, Arthur P., Art of the Yaka and Suku, Paris 1984, p. 109

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