Figure d'ancêtre masculin debout "nkiteki" · R. D. Congo, Bembe · ID: 3048947
Johan Henau, Antwerp, Belgium
Nadya Levi, Antwerp, Belgium
Sotheby’s, New York, 6 May 1994, Lot 159
Hans Petereit, Cologne, Germany
Sotheby’s, Paris, 15 June 2004, Lot 174
Fily Keita, Los Angeles, USA (2008)
Description
wood, black paint, white porcelain, base
The Bembe make use of two main types of figures: power figures used by diviners to cure ailments and ancestral figures, used to represent and honour deceased community leaders.
The Bembe believe that small wooden anthropomorphic figures are a representation of themselves and anyone with the financial means (usually chiefs and successful hunters) can commission the carving of a figure. The carved figure is generally called “nkumba” by the Bembe.
Upon the death of a figure’s owner, pieces of the individual’s corpse are mixed with medicines and magic substances (“bilongo”). This mixture is then inserted into a small carved hole near the rectum of the figure. By inserting the mixture and sealing the hole with a wooden plug and/or cloth wrapping, the “nkumba” figure receives the spirit of the ancestor and is thus transformed into a “nkiteki” ancestor figure (pl. “biteki”, in some sources also called “mukuya”).
The present figure holds a bell in each hand and is thus the embodiment of an important magic priest or diviner “nganga”. For the “nganga” used wooden bells to attract the attention of supernatural forces or spirits during divination rituals.
Littérature comparée
Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, p. 280, 147
Publications
AHDRC: 0012802