Main content
AP®︎/College Art History
Course: AP®︎/College Art History > Unit 8
Lesson 2: Central Africa- Portrait of King Mishe miShyaang maMbul (Kuba peoples)
- Power Figure, Nkisi Nkondi, Kongo peoples
- Female (pwo) mask (Chokwe peoples)
- Female (pwo) Mask (Chokwe peoples)
- Elephant Mask, Kuosi Society, Bamileke Peoples, Cameroon
- Fang Reliquary Figure
- Lukasa (memory board) (Luba peoples)
© 2023 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Power Figure, Nkisi Nkondi, Kongo peoples
By Dr. Shawnya L. Harris and Dr. Peri Klemm
Divine protection
Sacred medicines and divine protection are central to the belief of the Kongo peoples (Democratic Republic of Congo). The Kongo believe that the great god, Ne Kongo, brought the first sacred medicine (or nkisi) down from heaven in an earthenware vessel set upon three stones or termite mounds.
A nkisi (plural: minkisi) is loosely translated as a "spirit," yet it is represented as a container of sacred substances which are activated by supernatural forces that can be summoned into the physical world. Visually, these minkisi can be as simple as pottery or vessels containing medicinal herbs and other elements determined to be beneficial in curing physical illness or alleviating social ills. In other instances, minkisi can be represented as small bundles, shells, and carved wooden figures. Minkisi represent the ability to both ‘contain’ and ‘release’ spiritual forces, which can have both positive and negative consequences on the community.
Nkisi nkondi
A fascinating example of a nkisi can be found in a called nkisi nkondi. A nkisi nkondi can act as an oath taking image which is used to resolve verbal disputes or lawsuits (mambu) as well as an avenger (the term nkondi means ‘hunter’) or guardian if sorcery or any form of evil has been committed.
These minkisi are wooden figures representing a human or animal, such as a dog (nkisi kozo) carved under the divine authority and in consultation with an nganga or spiritual specialist who activates these figures through chants, prayers, and the preparation of sacred substances which are aimed at ‘curing’ physical, social or spiritual ailments.
Insertions
Nkisi nkondi figures are highly recognizable through an accumulation of pegs, blades, nails, or other sharp objects inserted into its surface. Medicinal combinations called bilongo are sometimes stored in the head of the figure but frequently in the belly of the figure, which is shielded by a piece of glass, mirror, or other reflective surface. The glass represents the ‘other world’ inhabited by the spirits of the dead, who can peer through and see potential enemies. Elements with a variety of purposes are contained within the bilongo. Seeds may be inserted to tell a spirit to replicate itself; mpemba or white soil deposits found near cemeteries represent and enlist support from the spiritual realm. Claws may incite the spirits to grasp something, while stones may activate the spirits to pelt enemies or protect one from being pelted.
The insertions are driven into the figure by the nganga and represent the mambu and the type or degree of severity of an issue can be suggested through the material itself. A peg may refer to a matter being ‘settled’ whereas a nail, deeply inserted, may represent a more serious offense such as murder. Prior to insertion, opposing parties or clients often lick the blades or nails, to seal the function or purpose of the nkisi through their saliva. If an oath is broken by one of the parties or evil befalls one of them, the nkisi nkondi will become activated to carry out its mission of destruction or divine protection.
Migrations
Europeans may have encountered these objects during expeditions to the Congo as early as the 15th century. However, several of these “fetish” objects, as they were often termed, were confiscated by missionaries in the late 19th century and were destroyed as evidence of sorcery or heathenism. Nevertheless, several were collected as objects of fascination and even as an object of study of Kongo culture. Kongo traditions such as those of the nkisi nkondi have survived over the centuries and migrated to the Americas and the Caribbean via Afro-Atlantic religious practices such as vodun, Palo Monte, and macumba. In Hollywood, these figures have morphed into objects of superstition, such as New Orleans voodoo dolls covered with stick pins. Nonetheless, minkisi have left an indelible imprint as visually provocative figures of spiritual importance and protection.
Additional resources
Read a chapter about African arts, c. 18th–20th centuries, in Reframing Art History.
David C. Driskell, Michael D. Harris, Wyatt Macgaffey, and Sylvia H. Williams, Astonishment and power (Washington: Published for the National Museum of African Art by the Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993).
Robert Farris Thompson, Flash of the spirit: African and Afro-American art and philosophy (New York: Random House, 1983).
Essay by Dr. Shawnya L. Harris and Dr. Peri Klemm
Want to join the conversation?
- Is there a meaning to their scales and size and what type of medical was put in the belly of the shell?(6 votes)
- What kind of herbs do they usually put in the stomach part?(3 votes)
- How tall (in feet) is this art piece?(2 votes)
- As the image captions states, it is 36 inches or 3 feet tall.(4 votes)
- what is another work of art that is in close correlation to this work that shows Jesus?(0 votes)
- This art work does not show Jesus. It is a Nkisi Nkondi, and represents the traditional tribal religion.(5 votes)
- Do Nkisi nkondi represent a way of seeing divine justice occurring in this world rather than the next?(2 votes)
- They may have believed that it would happen in both, but I presume that the justice was wanted as soon as possible, basically in this world.(2 votes)
- Does all statues that were created have the same features?(2 votes)
- From the essay:
Visually, these minkisi can be as simple as pottery or vessels containing medicinal herbs and other elements determined to be beneficial in curing physical illness or alleviating social ills. In other instances minkisi can be represented as small bundles, shells, and carved wooden figures.(1 vote)
- What were in the medicinal combinations?(2 votes)
- In the second paragraph of insertions,if the nkisi nkondi did'not work.. Did they use other spiritual resources or they continued using it?(2 votes)
- I would guess that like people in many religions where prayer is practiced, when the first prayer doesn't have immediate effect, people repeat. It's a practice common to many religions and spiritual practices.(1 vote)
- What is the style or period of the Nksi n'tondi ?(2 votes)
- The Power Figure belongs to African Art - Kongo, c. late nineteenth century.(1 vote)
- Is the container that holds medicine called mooyoo or is the belly of the figure called mooyoo?(2 votes)