IMAGES AND THE BODYENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITIONthat displayed on the back of the woman shown here (b),
operates across the lines of many subcultures.
In addition to the decoration of the body itself, art-
ists everywhere have made use of the human form in
objects and images that allow endless permutations of
meaning. The Luba people of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo carve figural stools (c) for the complex
array of seating arrangements that structure the hierarchy
of the privileged members of the Luba court. The stools
consist of female figures (but can also be abstract forms)
upholding the sitter, which is a male chief or a member of
the royal court. The female body possesses the power of
birth-giving and serves as the vessel containing the spirit
of the king. Past kings remain invested in their stools. The
features of the female figure, particularly the patterns of
scarification, are material texts that encode royal history.
Luba women are believed to hold the taboos and restric-
tions of kingship within their bodies and as such serve as
the figures symbolically holding up the kings.(b) ABOVE. A cross and the opening words of Psalm 23 tattooed
on a woman’s back. [©Steve Chenn/Corbis] (c) RIGHT. Luba cary-
atid stool of carved wood, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
[©Christie’s Images/Corbis]VV13.indd 2 13 .indd 2 1 10/15/04 5:30:00 PM 0 / 15 / 04 5 : 30 : 00 PM