The Tabwa ("scarify" and "write") constitute an ethnic group present in the South-East of the DRC, around Lake Tanganyika. The tribes of this region, such as the Tumbwe, worship the mipasi ancestors through sculptures held by chiefs or sorcerers. A magic charge (dawa) was introduced at the top of the head of the statues. Soothsayers-healers used this type of object to reveal witchcraft and protect against malevolent spirits. Perched on a base whose interior has been hollowed out, a female figure is represented seated, naked, her arms hampered by a cord behind her back where a long braid runs. Desication cracks, ocher brown patina. Simple farmers without centralized power, the Tabwa federated around tribal chiefs after coming under the influence of the Luba. It was mainly during this period that their artistic current was expressed mainly through statues but also masks. The Tabwa practiced ancestor worship and dedicated some of their statues to it. Animists, their beliefs are anchored around the ngulu, spirits of nature present in plants and rocks. Source: "Treasures of Africa" ed. Tervuren Museum.
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