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HOME :
African & Tribal Art :
Masterpieces of African Art : Kongo Wooden Nkisi Nkondi Fetish Sculpture
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Kongo Wooden Nkisi Nkondi Fetish Sculpture - PF.2802B
Origin: Southwestern Congo/Angola
Circa: 20th
th
Century AD
Collection: African Art
Style: Yombe
Medium: Wood, Glass, Metal
Location: United States
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| Description |
The Kongo (or Bakongo) people live in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and
the Congo. By the end of the 15th century the
Kongo were living in a series of loosely-
connected yet autonomous kingdoms, to include
Kongo, Ngoyo, Vungu and Kakongo, followed by
the increasingly powerful Bakongo kingdom,
Loango, at the start of the 16th century. This
coincided with the arrival of the first Portuguese
explorers, with whom they had a reasonably
peaceful relationship for some time. The
kingdom absorbed European traditions and
religion without bloodshed, and, more
importantly, with much of their indigenous
culture intact. While matters deteriorated
subsequently, partly due to wars with other tribal
groups (notably the Yaka), the Kongo tribes have
survived relatively well as cultural entities and
have seen a resurgence since their independence
in 1960.
Indigenous Kongo society was based around the
kingship model, with extensive arrays of civil
servants and court officials not unlike that of the
Nigerian Kingdom of Benin. Owing to the large
size of the area in which they live, this group is
often unable to communicate and has to rely
upon French/Portuguese or creoles based upon
them. Their religious beliefs have a far wider
circulation, and are based around a reverence for
the dead who are believed to be able to assist in
the determination of future destinies. They are
also believed to inhabit minkisi (singular nkisi),
or charms, that can be appealed to for assistance
in times of duress or uncertainty. The most
notable pieces of Kongo sculpture are the Nkisi
Nkondi figures – often referred to as nail fetishes
– which carry a packet of magical materials
known as a bilongo; the figures are insulted and
“hurt” with explosions and nails so that they will
carry out the wishes of their tormentor. Various
other categories also exist, such as the ntadi
limestone grave markers and maternity figures
with characteristic open-mouths, almond-
shaped eyes and detailed surface work.
The Kongo people believe there are innumerable
spirits that dwell in nature. Occasionally one
inhabits a human being and that person falls ill.
In such a case, a healer (magician) must use a
nkisi to "lure" the spirit from the human body
into the fetish body. The exorcism commences
with the patient being covered in red powder,
the color of the nkisi spirit, then drinking a
potion made of fetish ingredients. If all goes
well, the spirit is expelled from the patient's
body and fixed inside the nkisi. These
remarkable statues are also used as protection
and for oath-taking. When one is in use, nails or
blades are driven into it to activate its spiritual
energy. The nkisis are also referred to as "power
figures", and each of the nails or iron blades
hammered into them by patients undergoing
exorcism, serve as proof of the statues efficacy.
Though an object such as a nkisi is very alien to
Western culture, we can feel its authority and
intensity, which may literally be from beyond the
physical world.
- (PF.2802B)
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