Nkishi Figure

Origin: Songye Tribe, D.R. Congo
Composition: wood, pigment stain, rope, animal hide and horn, magical substances

Among the Songye, figural sculptures, mankishi (singular nkishi), are instruments used to bring good fortune, protect, heal, and counteract evil. While a carver produces the wooden figure, a ritual specialist, nganga, adds a multitude of substances and objects that give nkishi its power and enhance its visual impact.

Ritual specialists create two kinds of mankishi—small ones (like this piece) for individuals and families for household use, and large ones (over 3 feet tall) for the entire community. Each nkishi is imbued with an individualized identity, given a name, and treated as an individual.

This piece was brought by air to SUJARO from the Congo in 2007. It is carved from a single piece of wood, with a skirt of animal hide, and the horn of an antelope.