African Arts Gallery

The Holo used statuettes to guard against the influence of evil spirits, including the moon and rainbow. These statues were placed near the houses as protection against lightning. Bird figures are also used to protect against ndoki, or wizards, who would activate evil spirits.
In this case the owl embodies a nocturnal protective spirit. The figure Kaponya wa Pwo nyi cikungulu is lined with disparate elements, talismans in the form of ritually charged horn, barks, dried fruits, fagot of feathers. Pink and white ochre pigments were applied to the set. The end of a foot is gnawed.
Situated in The Democratic Congo between the Yaka and the Chukwe of Angola, the small Holo ethnic group migrated from the Angolan coast to settle near the banks of the Kwango River. Hunting and ...

This mask is capped with a tiara consisting alternately of braided vegetable fibers, laces, necklaces of pink pearls arranged horizontally, rattan pad and animal skin. The almond-eyed face, incised, extends with a bifid beak. The surface of the wood, abraded, reveals an underlying light wood.
Total height with base: 35 cm. Located in the Democratic Congo between the Yaka and the Tchokwé of Angola, the small Holo ethnic group migrated from the Angolan coast to settle near the banks of the Kwango River. Hunting and agriculture provide for their livelihood. Neighbouring ethnic groups, such as the Suku and Yaka, influenced their traditional sculptures. The Holos have produced hexagonal masks and prestige objects for the ruling elite. The Holos used sculptures, asexual anthropomorphic ...

Located in the Democratic Congo between the Yaka and the Tchokwé of Angola, the small Holo ethnic group migrated from the Angolan coast to settle near the banks of the Kwango River. Hunting and agriculture provide for their livelihood. Neighbouring ethnic groups, such as the Suku and Yaka, influenced their traditional sculptures. The Holos have produced hexagonal masks and prestige objects for the ruling elite. The Holos used sculptures to guard against the influence of evil spirits, including the moon and the rainbow. These statues were placed near the houses as protection from lightning.
Positioned frontally on legs reduced to half-flexed, the character is depicted with hands placed around a prominent abdomen. The face adopts the large eyeballs also visible on the masks of the ...

Located in the Democratic Congo between the Yaka and the Tchokwé of Angola, the small Holo ethnic group migrated from the Angolan coast to settle near the banks of the Kwango River. Hunting and agriculture provide for their livelihood. Neighbouring ethnic groups, such as the Suku and Yaka, influenced their traditional sculptures. The Holos have produced hexagonal masks and prestige objects for the ruling elite. The Holos used sculptures, asexual anthropomorphic figures and bird effigies to guard against the influence of evil spirits, including the moon and the rainbow. These statues were placed near the houses as protection from lightning. In "Chokwe and their Bantu Neighbours" (p.110), the author states that these figures hamba named kaponya wa pwo nyi cikungulu symbolize fertility and ...

This sign was intended for the affliction cults nzaambi , also practiced by the Yaka , rituals that allowed to deal with a problem whose divinatory practices had been able to establish the source. While the Holos were likely inspired by Christian iconography, they honored spirits and not a single god. Often intended to promote hunting, fertility or good health, these sculptures had to be ritually beended by the interest of different substances. Brown skate. Scattered abrasions.
Located in democratic Congo between the Yaka and the Tchokwé of Angola, the small ethnic Holo migrated from the Angolan coast to settle near the banks of the Kwango. Hunting and agriculture provide for their livelihood. Neighbouring ethnic groups, such as the Suku, influenced their traditional sculptures. The ...