Tribal Art

African fetish of the Songye whose face takes up the structure of the kifwebe mask of the Bwadi ka bifwebe society, but whose hairstyle is embellished with small horns. The sculpture is "desacralized", absence of ritual accessories and of the magic charge whose reddish traces testify to the existence. Black satin patina, cracks and traces of xylophages now eradicated.

The fetish Songye, magic sculpture Nkisi, nkishi (pl. mankishi), plays the role of mediator between gods and men. The large specimens are the collective property of an entire village, while the smaller figures belong to an individual or a family. In the 16th century, the Songyes migrated from the Shaba region to settle in Kasai, Katanga and South Kivu. Their society is organized in a patriarchal way. Their history is inseparable from that of the Luba to which they are related through common ancestors. Very present in their society, divination made it possible to discover sorcerers and to shed light on the causes of the misfortunes that struck individuals.
Lit. : "The Sensible and the Force" ed. Royal Museum for Central Africa