African Arts Gallery

Thesetribal statues, ritual charmsbelonging to lineages and providing protection against enemies, were made according to the instructions of the Nganga ngoombu and the sponsor of the object. These sculptures were then activated using rituals and incantatory formulas, and additions in the form of talismans. The headdress is that of the land chiefs. Beautiful shiny dark brown patina, abrasions.
Hierarchical and authoritarian, made up of formidable warriors, Yaka society was governed by lineage leaders with the right to life and death over their subjects. Hunting and the prestige that results from it are nowadays an opportunity for the Yaka to invoke the ancestors and to resort to rituals using charms linked to the "khosi" institution. The youth initiation society is the n-khanda, which is found among the eastern Kongo (Chokwe, Luba, etc.), and which uses various charms and masks in order to to ensure a vigorous lineage. The Suku and Yaka ethnic groups, geographically very close, have the same social and political structure as well as similar cultural practices. They can only be differentiated by their stylistic variations. (C.M.Faïk-Nzuji, "The Power of the Sacred"))("Treasures of Africa" ​​ed. Tervuren Museum)("Yaka", 5Continents