Anthropomorphic statuette - Wood - Nkisi Nkondi - Kongo / Yombe - Congo DRC

Nkisi Nkondi Statuette Kongo/Yombe culture, Democratic Republic of Congo First half of the 20th century. Wood, glass, mirror, fabric, string and iron. Height: 52 cm; Width: 13 cm; Depth: 17 cm. Statuette in wood depicting a standing anthropomorphic figure, with high knees and the feet resting on a squared base. The bust is marked with inlays of iron blades and nails, inserted on top of load in relief. The whole is coiled up in cord. The oval face presents two eyes with black pupils encrusted with glass, an open mouth - referring to swearing - C-shaped ears, a protrusion on the summit of the skull, decorated with a piece of fabric. The specificity of these Minkisi fetishes, plural of Nkisi, is their ventral load. In fact, the figurine is not “active” without its bilongo, magical load. The attribution of these powers is the purpose of a specific ceremony, where the soothsayer named Nganga, loads the item with different organic components. The bilongo is sealed thanks to a little squared piece of mirror. Thus, the statuette becomes a spiritual entity, questioned for all types of societal of personal problems. The Nganga is the only intermediary between men and the Nkisi Nkondi. Anyone facing a problem, whether it is illness or conflict, consults a soothsayer. Before inserting the nail into the wood, in reference to the request made to the Nkisi Nkondi, the Nganga would wake it by firstly licking the nail. The Nkisi Nkondi then becomes a witch hunter. Provenance: Former Thys collection.