Nkisi nkondistatue (Kongo).
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Wood, metal, height: 82 cm.
Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale, Tervuren, Belgium.
Impressive statue covered with nails and blades. The Nkisi nkondi
(term evoking hunting) are used by a community when chasing
criminals. The metallic parts standing in the body of the charm
materialise the client’s problems and demands, and seal
engagements (military treaties, pacts, contracts, oath) joining
gesture to speech. The nails, manufactured by blacksmiths,
initiated the cult of the dead (Simbo) on anvils of stone removed
from the river, were sometimes licked before being planted to
reinforce the word given through saliva.