Antique ancestral male figure - hardwood and metal - Ngbaka - D.R.C.

Antique ancestral male figure – Ngbaka – D. R. C. In fairly good state, but with many signs of long use. It dates to around 1910/1920. On stand. Provenance: Ex – collection of the Right Reverend Fathers Capucins, Brugge, Belgium. Bought from them by H. Westerdijk around 1965. Figures like this one always exist in pairs and represent the mythical couple of sister and brother named Nabo and Seto, the Adam and Eve of the Ngbaka Minagende of N. W. D. R. C. and the largest population group in the Ubangi area. This figure falls well within the regional style, the dominant way of sculpting human beings current among the Ngbaka, Ngbandi, Mbanja and Ngombe. It is sometimes rather hard to establish the true sex of such figures since primary and secondary sex organs are usually very schematically indicated. Pairs of Nabo and Seto were kept inside the house or under a shelter outdoors and received gifts of food and drink as well as prayers from the head of the family. Such pairs were believed to stimulate fertility, keep illnesses away and cure them and ensure a rich harvest and above all a good hunt. The figure has the for the Ngbaka typical caurishell eyes, the coxcomb tattoo pattern on the forehead and the metal rings about ears, waist and neck. Literature: J. L. Grootaers (ed.) : Ubangi, Brussels, 2007, pp. 178 ff. Dimensions: 42 x 10 x 10 cm. People / Region: The Ngbaka Minagende are the main group in N. W. D. R. C. Material: hardwood and metal. Weight: 1. 25 kg. incl. stand Sold with handwritten declaration of authenticity by Dr. P. Westerdijk, museum ethnologist and cultural anthropologist specialized, for over 50 years now, in the study of the material cultures in African nations that live south of the Sahara.