African Arts Gallery

This knife, also called Trumbash, with a curved blade equipped with an anthropomorphic handle, constituted a combat weapon, and above all a prestigious accessory appreciated during ritual dance ceremonies. Established in the forest in the northeast of Zaire, between Bomokandi and the Uele River, the Mangbetu kingdom expressed itself through architectural works that fascinated European visitors in the 19th century. Their furniture, weapons, ornaments, pottery and statuary were imbued with a rare aesthetic quality. Several groups established south of the Uele were placed under the authority of the Mangbetu kingdom in 1820: Bangaba, Makere, Mamvu, etc. A wealth of prestigious objects, as well as utilitarian objects, were produced for dignitaries . From 1892, Niangara becoming the Belgian colonial capital, taxes were collected from families.