African Arts Gallery

Inspired by Songye fetishes, this sculpted character is equipped with the magic charge introduced into the horn stuck at the top by the tip. The triangular face with stretched features also recalls the Bangubangu style.
Satin patina, brown, encrusted with light pigments.
The Kusu established on the left bank of the Lualaba borrowed the artistic traditions of the Luba and the Hemba and possessed a caste system similar to that of the Luba. The Hemba, for their part, settled in the south-east of Zaire, on the right bank of the Lualaba. Formerly under Luba rule, these farmers and hunters practice ancestor worship through effigies long attributed to the Luba. The singiti statues were kept by the fumu mwalo and honored during ceremonies during which sacrifices were offered to them. Parallel to the authority of the hereditary chiefs, secret societies, masculine such as the bukazanzi, and feminine, the bukibilo, played a major role within the clan. Individual protection figures such as ours, used by the Hemba and the Kusu, were inspired by Songye fetishes.