Standing male figure · D. R. Congo, Basikasingo · ID: 3042012
not available anymore
Provenance
Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels, BelgiumSize
H: 63 cm
H: 24.8 inch
Description
wood, brown patina, of closed contour, dam., traces of insect caused damage, missing parts (foot tips), cracks, slight traces of abrasion;
the Basikasingo have rites for ancestors, who have the power to cause disease and misfortune. If a mischief happened, people tried to experience the wishes of the ancestors by interpreting dreams and by sooth saying. They were kept in small shrines under the authority and guardianship of a petty chief, village headman or dominant lineage elder. Sometimes such figures were individually identified ancestors, called “bashumbu”.
Comparing literature
Biebuyck, Daniel P., Statuary from the pre-Bembe hunters, Tervuren 1981, p. 33, ill. 17
Publications
AHDRC: 0139853