Bembe Ancestor Healer Statue, Congo #991

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Bembe Ancestor Healer Statue, Congo #991
Date/Period: Mid 20th century
Embodying the Spirit of an Ancestor, this sculpture bears keloid tattoos testifying to the successive stages of Initiation to which the individual represented was endowed. Sometimes set with glass, earthenware or bones, the almond-shaped eyes are here hollowed out.
Established on the plateaus of the People's Republic of Congo ex.Brazzaville, and not to be confused with the Bembe group of northern Lake Tanganinyika, the small Babembé group, Béembé, was influenced by rites and culture Téké, but especially by that of the Kongo. Settled in the current Republic of Congo, the Béembé originally formed the kingdom of Kongo, with the Vili, Yombé, Bwendé and Woyo. The Head of the Village, Nga-Bula, was responsible for interceding with the Ancestors. Hunting being a major activity, the Ancestors were invoked through this type of Power Figure statuettes. These idealized representations of Ancestors, Kitebi or Bimbi, were consecrated by the Sorcerer/ Shaman, and depicted the attributes of Hunters or Healers. Some of them, as among the Bakongo, were known as magic objects, Minkisi, which had reliquaries in which medicines, Bilongo, or Relics of Ancestors, were inserted. This statuette is provided with an orifice for this purpose. Depicting a Healer with His Tools of Medicinal Power.
Measurements: 11.81 Inch
Materials: Wood, fibers
Mid 20th Century