African Arts Gallery

"Mbumba Bwiti", bust of an ancestor rising from a base-load composed of clay materials, small bones, textiles and plant fibres. Pink patina, abrasions.
The Mitsogho ethnic group, Sogho, is established in a forest region on the right bank of the Ngoumé River, Ngounié, near the Kwele. Bwiti society, which has a system of reliquaries comparable to that of the Fang and the Kota, formed the cohesion of the Mitsogho matrilineal clans. Their masks were exhibited at funerals, and stored in the ebanza male initiation house. Like the other ethnic groups of Gabon, they practice the rites of the Bwiti which would have spread in this way among the coastal peoples. Their sculptural production is varied, in the form of statues, masks, reliquary guardians, pillars, doors and panels, musical instruments. The veneration of ancestors expressed in their art plays a major role in their society.