Standing male power figure "nkisi"
Description
wood, dark brown and blackish brown patina, cowrie shell eyes, coiffure of black and white monkey hair, headband and tubes of reptile skin, animal horn in the parting, appliqués of copper sheet and decorating nails on the face, loincloth of reddish brown raffia bast, opening in the abdomen, slightly dam., several cracks, minor missing part at the navel, shanks and feet missing, socle;
according to F. Neyt, figures of this kind belong to the Central and Southern Styles (Neyt, Songe, 2009, p. 230 ff.).
Because of its big size present figure should have once belonged to a village or a community. These sculptures are created above all to promote fecundity and fertility or to insure tranquility in the village. Most frequently they bear the names “ya ntambwe” (lion) or “ya nkima” (monkey). Often these are the priestesses entrusted with their care and their appearances, particularly during the ceremonies of the new moon (the moon is regarded as the fecund principle). Rising above the statue, the horn is one of the most important elements of the whole. It symbolizes power, fertility and fecundity. The exterior of the horn is regarded as the male element, the fecund principle; the interior as female, that which is fertilized, that which is furnished with magical powers. A statue without magical substances (“bijimba”) and ornaments, which are the real source of its power, is, to the Songe, robbed of its value.