Songye Fetish

This imposing standing male figure is the joint creation of a skilled sculptor and a trained ritual practitioner, or Nganga (healer). The face has sensitively rendered features, with semicircular eyes closed beneath arched eyebrows that extend on each side toward the jaw lines. This gives the face its distinctive V-shape, interrupted by the short horizontal chin line. The body is a succession of articulated angular shapes, from the straight shoulders and tubular arms to the side of the torso, the protruding abdomen on each side of which the hands rest, and the telescopic cones forming the thighs and calves. Large-scale power figures, like this example, were central to the life of Songye communities. The fetish was kept in a special enclosure positioned in a highly visible location, such as the center of the village or near the chief's house.

It is made of carved wood, complemented with a fabric and metal skirt.

Length: 11 cm

Height: 40.5 cm

Width: 11.5 cm

Weight: 1,213 kg