What is the purpose of the Nkisi Nkondi figure?
A nkisi nkondi can act as an oath taking image which is used to resolve verbal disputes or lawsuits (mambu) as well as an avenger (the term nkondi means ‘hunter’) or guardian if sorcery or any form of evil has been committed.
Who made the Nkisi Nkondi figure?
(38.00 cm.) Minkisi (singular nkisi), often referred to in English as “power figures,” were made by Kongo people, such as the Yombe, residing in the area now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. These figures are, in effect, vessels for containing spiritual forces.
Where was the Nkisi Nkondi figure found?
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nkisi nkondi figures come from the Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group located in the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo.
What was the purpose of the Kongo female figure?
The statue has several purposes: it is an enforcer among the Kongo community, brings healing and protection, symbolizes an honor of contracts and agreements, and it serves as a mediator between the earthly and spiritual realms (AP Art History).
What is inside a nkisi?
nkisi, plural minkisi, in west-central African lore, any object or material substance invested with sacred energy and made available for spiritual protection. They contain spiritually potent substances referred to as “medicines”—such as soil, clay, or relics from a grave—to heal and defend against spiritual maladies.
What type of ritual involved the use of Nkisi Nkondi figures?
These minkisi are wooden figures representing a human or animal such as a dog (nkisi kozo) carved under the divine authority and in consultation with an nganga or spiritual specialist who activates these figures through chants, prayers and the preparation of sacred substances which are aimed at ‘curing’ physical.
When was the Nkisi Nkondi made?
Nkisi n’kondi (Power figure) Late 19th century CE. Wood and metal.
When was Nkisi Nkondi made?
Nkondi with nails were made at least as early as 1864, when the British Commodore A. P. Eardley Wilmont acquired one while suppressing Solongo (Soyo) piracy at the mouth of the Congo River, a piece that was the subject of a contemporary painting and is presently in the Royal Geographical Institute in London.
What role did the nkisi fulfill for the Kongo peoples?
What is a Nkisi Nkondi how does it work and how has that concept represented African culture?
nkisi, plural minkisi, in west-central African lore, any object or material substance invested with sacred energy and made available for spiritual protection. One tradition of the Kongo people of west-central Africa holds that the god Funza gave the world the first nkisi.
What are African power figures?
Power Figure (Nkisi N’Kondi: Mangaaka) 19th century. Central African power figures are among the ubiquitous genres identified with African art. Conceived to house specific mystical forces, they were collaborative creations of Kongo sculptors and ritual specialists.
