Doll - Lega - DR Congo (No Reserve Price)

The Lega are a Bantu forest people of Central Africa established mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo east of the Lwalaba River, up to the altitudes of the Mitumba Mountains, in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema . Lega's totem is the pangolin.

Ancestralism is experienced as a mysticism where the relationship with God is anthropocentric. This anthropocentrism is based on the centrality of man in the relationships of man with God, of the visible world with the invisible world. Growth in humanity is the ultimate goal of every spiritual and religious quest. Growth in humanity is a lifelong struggle to overcome one's own selfishness in building a world of brothers. “Ibutwa i ungwa” says a Lega proverb; which means, fraternity can be built! Life is not a quest for the invisible but a permanent quest for growth in humanity while remaining in the footsteps of our Fathers. This is why all of life is a permanent initiation into the mystery of life through an initiatory institution, the Bwami. There is no separation between the sacred and the profane, the visible world and the invisible world. All the elements of the universe are in resonance: the world of nature is not cut off from that of man. Neither does that of the supernatural. On the one hand, spiritual forces can penetrate many elements of the environment. On the other hand, the deceased do not leave for a distant and unreachable world: they are present alongside the living, attacking or protecting them at the same time as they depend on them. There must therefore be unity between the visible world and that of the invisible. But also within the society of the living. Unity may or may not be confused with uniformity. There is no paradise. There is no heaven or hell. There is no faith in the resurrection of the dead because the dead are not dead. The dead change their status of existence. Life ends here below because it is defined as existence in temporality. On the other hand, existence goes even beyond material time. The resurrection of the dead means returning to the life of the living (body and soul) . A Lega proverb says in fact: Lusakila (lusagila) a'uila (akwila) u namba, wa'ua (wakwa) taue (takuke) , which means, a dead leaf that falls from a branch can never return to it.

Lega art is full of a varied historical and cultural treasure. A very great artistic diversity is noted there: sculpture, statuary, basketry, weaving, body aesthetics, bladed weapons, etc. In these various categories, Lega art is full of unique works in their genres, of immense historical and artistic richness which have aroused admiring and attentive glances from connoisseurs of African art.
Sculpture carves solid materials such as wood (specific precious species) , ivory, bone, horn and stone to create a unique piece in an original form (masks, figurines, various objects) .
Statuary is a specific class of clay masters (babumbi) , who make clay statues (small figurines) . The sculptor, master of clay, works with cutting techniques with fine-tuning.
Basketry or the art of weaving plant fibers is very present and used for a wide variety of objects: baskets, baskets, baskets, vans, furniture, mats, etc. Lega basketry uses fibers (hard and smooth) , stalks, palm leaves (ibondo, ibila) and herbs. The most used fibers are liana (lububi or kekele in Swahili) , kikusu, mukala. Raffia weaving, lweku, is the emblematic art of Lega basketry. Raffia, lweku, is the most expensive and preferred fiber. The raw material for basketry is fiber, straw, palm leaves, sticks, reeds, etc.
The aesthetics of the human body are also very diverse: aesthetics of the head (hairstyle) , dental aesthetics, visual body aesthetics (tattoo) .
The Lega forge produced several tools which present the mastery of a better artistic technique of working iron, 'iuma (kyuma) , copper, suis (nsubi) , silver, ngonge, . . . The bladed weapons were made with great care. aesthetic depending on their use. Beyond the generic names of each category, there are proper names linked to function or beauty. The knife, mwele is a generic name. There is the mwele wa 'ialo, kitchen knife, mwele wa mbosho, two-edged knife, . . . There is the razor, iubo. The spear, ishimo or isimu is a generic name. There is the pusu, broad spear, ngaka, spade spear. . .

In a society where there is no separation between the profane and the sacred, the spiritual and the temporal, where the entire life of society is bathed in religion, art is intimately linked to spirituality. However, one should not look for the religious or the sacred everywhere because the sculptor produces furniture, one should not see the religious or the sacred in it. The sculptor has produced a work and use will make it something else. Every work of art has a purpose, an objective. There is no art for art's sake. Lega art aims to symbolically transmit artistic, social, moral, spiritual and philosophical values. The Lega sculpture can be classified into the categories of works.
1° A first category is made up of bikyeko (masks, statuettes, figurines, etc.) , which serve as an educational support to transmit lessons. These works of art serve as a support for image pedagogy. The Lega society is an initiation society where works of art are used as didactic support in all series of initiations. Each work of art is a book to be deciphered, a code left by ancestors for future generations. Symbols are used by men to express themselves and communicate with each other, to transcribe and preserve their history, their legal precepts, their mottos and their philosophical thoughts. Every message from the ancestors bears a seal of sacredness, which is why it is only revealed during a ceremony through rites according to a precise ceremonial. It is this ceremony that we call Pala (Mpala) . The works of art in this first category are supports linked to proverbs, songs, aphorisms, dances and stagings. This type of learning where the image or object refers to a reality expressed through proverbs, sayings, riddles, riddles, tales, parables, etc. , recited or sung, reveals the teaching methods of Bwami. The pedagogy of Bwami is a dynamic, participatory and mystagogical pedagogy (which returns to the mystery of the grade to which one was initiated) . The symbol and the image are at the center of the initiatory language and contain messages to be decoded, the knowledge of which belongs only to the initiates of the institution of Bwami. The Pala (Mpala) is a cult open to all audiences, that is to say certain ceremonies are open to initiates and non-initiates.
2° A second category is made up of myambalo (ornaments, objects of worship, etc.) , which are ritual objects, emblematic and honorary insignia used during the different series of initiations. Ritual objects are used for the performance of a specific cult. The emblematic and honorary badges serve to identify the members of the Bwami society according to their rank and function. They are used for certain cults according to the calendar and liturgical celebrations of the Lega society; according to the liturgical calendar: mbalo (rites of thanksgiving for the new lunation) , mwaa (rites of blessing new harvests) , ubisula ilumba (rite of skull veneration) …; depending on the places of worship: mango (domestic sacrifice altar) , mabuu (family shrine of skull relics) , ngombe (village cult) …
3° A third category is made up of bitengya (bells, cymbals, trumpets and other small musical instruments, etc.) . This category includes all the musical instruments used to accompany initiatory songs. These instruments are often decorated and adorned so that they become jewels of Lega art. It is the circumstances of the use of these bitengya which give them a particular meaning in Pala (Mpala) .
Ancestrality is a religion which does not have a clergy constituted in a body. The priestly function is one of the patriarchal functions of the head of the family. Lega art is closely linked to the initiation rites of Bwami, a caste society where it is the upper classes who run the institution. The Bami, members of the Bwami association, are both masters and mystics; this is why their person attracts admiration and fear, serves as a model and is stigmatized. The Bami, head of the family, also exercise the priestly function in their family. The Bami of the priest class exercise the priestly function in a circumstantial manner, these are Basombe, Bakyoka, Bimikya. Lega art is closely linked to the ceremonies and initiation rites of Bwami, a hierarchical association which defines rites allowing access to different grades corresponding to increasingly higher degrees of knowledge. The Lega are renowned for their sculptures, mainly in ivory, bone and wood. Different styles have been determined based on geographic regions. Lega art presents a concave style, the surface of the sculptures is generally hollow. It is distinguished from other African arts (Bembe, Dogon, Fang, etc.) by its sobriety, flexibility of lines and economy of the means used. Wood, bone and ivory are the main materials used. Lega art, and African art in general, has influenced Western artists. What fascinated them was this detachment from reality; African arts make thought dominate. The dynamism is internal, there is no representation of movement but a great force emerges from these works