Statuette for the "m-mbwoolu-tsyo" ritual

Description

wood, middle brown patina, kaolin in dots and stripes, an elongated torso rising from only one short leg, the right arm missing, crude carved facial features without mouth, slightly dam. (nose), cracks (head/right eye, torso), missing part (leg zone), on base;
statuettes used in the “m-mbwoolu-tsyo” ritual institution appear in series that can number as many as twenty figures. The variety of forms include those with missing limbs, spiralled torso, expanding body sections, janus-form, as well as surmounting figures. The series are conceptualized as the chiefs, who are related to one another in a miniature version of the traditional political structure. Each ritual shelter has a paramount chief and subordinate chiefs often with many wives and children.

Comparing literature