TS_Art of Africa_4C.qxp 10/17/2011 3:50 PM Page 158
To the east of “the empire” of the Congo extended to the
kingdom of Lounda, astride the high valleys of the Kasai and
the Zambezi, known under the name of the kingdom of the
muata-yamvo. Between this State and that of the monomotapa,
on the middle Zambezi, was the kingdom of the Barotse, to the
north of which was that of the Katanga, in the mountainous
region where the Congo River takes its source. Still farther to the
north, to the west of Lake Tanganyika, one meets the kingdom
of the Urua or Baluba and that of the Manyema and, to the east
of the Lake, the celebrated “empire” of the muene-muezi or the
Wanyamwezi, with its vassals the Ourundi and the Ruanda.
Finally, to the north of Lake Victoria flourished the Uganda with
its vassal the Unyoro.All these States, Negro kingdoms and Arab and Persian
sultanates, had been preserved to at least up to the time of the
occupation of the country by European powers. Within their
boundaries or nearby and often at their expense, migrations
of tribes took place, none of which seems to have had the
importance that some have wished to attribute to certain of
them. Some peoples, almost unknown to the ancient
navigators, have later been revealed to our attention, as, for
instance, the Fang or Pahuins who are met with in the
Cameroon and the Gabon. But in a general fashion, the
political and social state of Negro South Africa appears to
have undergone very little change from the 15thto the 19thcentury.
At any rate, none of the States mentioned above has exercised a
serious influence on the development of civilisation and, even
momentarily, has not thrown an appreciable lustre within its
own borders.Eyema Byeri statue (Fang).
Gabon.
Wood, dark brown satiny patina, height: 38 cm.
Private collection.Originating from the Volga, the Koulango, now living in the northeast of Ivory
Coast, have adopted an art more similar to the Akan group. Unfortunately their
production is rather confined and not well-known.