African Arts Gallery

Short sword for ceremonial use whose wooden handle is wrapped in copper strips. Grainy oxidized patina.
Scattered across the Kasai basin, the Tetela of Mongo origin have been the cause of incessant conflicts with their neighbors. They also participated extensively in the slave trade. Their very diverse sculpture is marked by the influence of the groups living in contact with them: in the North, their art was subject to the influence of forest populations such as the Mongo, in the northwest that of the Nkutschu, and in the west that of Binji and Mputu. Kuba traditions were also a source of inspiration, as well as those of the Songye in the southwest. Their fetishes are kept out of sight. Animists, they seek to appease and direct the elements thanks to the sorcerer Wichi and the priest Umpa. Their traditional currency, "dikonga", in the form of spearheads, also contributed to making known the talent of their blacksmiths and those of the Nkutschu.