Tribal Art

Carved in dense wood, the magic charge lodged in the summit horn, this traditional African fetish offers two opposite faces reproducing the African mask kifwebe. Although this statue has unusual details, its structure characterizes classical Songye sculpture.
Glossy dark patina. Desication cracks.
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, the more modest figures reserved for individual or family use.
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 whom 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