Accession Number
2005/1.227

Title
Power Figure

Artist(s)
Songye

Artist Nationality
Songye

Object Creation Date
circa 1890

Medium & Support
wood, copper, metal tacks, leather, snakeskin, raffia, and vegetable fiber cloth

Dimensions
24 7/16 in x 12 5/8 in x 4 3/4 in (62 cm x 32 cm x 12 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern

Subject matter
This nkisi, or power figure, is attributed to the Bekalebwe, one of the primary subgroups of the Songye people, who today live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In fact, the Songye are known for excelling in the production of power figures like this, known collectively as minkisi. The term nkisi refers to both the spirit personality as well as the intermediary vehicle or vessel through which the spirit is accessed in order to fulfill a specific need for the living. Minkisi are designed and controlled by an nganga, a diviner and healer, who serves as a clairvoyant spirit mediator capable of transversing the temporal and celestial realms. Able to detect and communicate with unseen forces, the nganga offers diagnoses and treatments for both individual and societal crises and afflictions, such as infertility, plague, and poor harvests. The nganga would specially craft medicinal substances, or bishimba, from plants, animals, and minerals on behalf of affected members of the community.
Nkisi figures of a grand stature, such as this one, were intended to offer health, fecundity, protection, and prosperity for the entire village. Large, communal minkisi would have been housed in a special sanctuary constructed next to the home of the chief, who bears responsibility for tending to them.
This particular figure has tied to it an elegant leather bag as well a medicinal pestle, both of which are quintessential items carried by an nganga. The figure likely is a representation of a deceased nganga, whose spiritual assistance is sought for the well-being of the village.

Reference:
​Maurer, Evan M. and Niangi Batulukisi.  Spirits Embodied:  Art of the Congo, Selections from the Helmut F. Stern Collection.  Minneapolis:  The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1999.

Physical Description
This large and commanding Songye nkisi carved from wood depicts a male figure with the following characteristics: a large head whose crown is covered in stunning copper; almond shaped eyes; a large, oblong mouth; metal tacks across the temples; and a bold, trapezoidal chin. The figure’s hands rest on either side of its protruding belly, which bears a round mark representing its umbilicus. The nkisi dons a vegetable fiber loincloth which has been affixed by raffia. A trio of necklaces serve as adornments while a medicinal pestle dangles from its waist. Also remarkable is the handsome leather purse which the figure carries around its arm. 

Primary Object Classification
Sculpture

Primary Object Type
figure

Collection Area
African

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
communities (inhabited places)
diviners
pestles
power
protection (maintenance function)
snakeskin
spirits (beings)
traditional medicine