Standing male figure (nkisi Mangaaka)
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cabinda, Chiloango River Valley, Kongo peoples, Yombe group
Late 19th century
Wood, iron, raffia, kaolin pigment, red camwood powder (tukula), and cowrie shell
44 1/32 x 15 5/8 x 1 3/8 in. (111.8 x 39.7 x 3.5 cm)
Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the McDermott Foundation, 1996.184.FA

All minkisi (power figures) in whatever form—wooden figures, snail shells, fiber bags, or clay pots—are containers for the magical substances, or “medicine,” that activate them. Carved figures usually have cranial and/or abdominal cavities into which the medicine is inserted. Nkisi Mangaaka have beards that also serve this purpose. The function of the nkisi Mangaaka was to assure that oaths sworn before it were honored.

When agreements or oaths were sworn in its presence, a nganga (ritual specialist) activated the spirit force contained in the figure by hammering a nail or blade into its body. As suggested by its aggressive posture, called vonganana (“to come on strong”), the figure stood ready to attack or defend, as required.

This nkisi Mangaaka is one of eight that originated in the workshop of an unknown Kongo master sculptor along the boundary between Portuguese Cabinda and the old Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). Its unique style is distinguished by the treatment of the eyes, the modeling of the head and shoulders, a giant cowrie shell covering the abdominal cavity, and the placement of the feet on separate rectangular blocks instead of a common base.

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