Information on the Ambete and their African art.
Country: Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon
The Mbete who claim to originate from the Kota ethnic group live in the middle part of the Republic of Congo near the frontier of Gabon and in eastern Gabon. In view of the shifting location of the peoples living in this region, it is impossible to retrace the precise history of the Mbete culture. Certain ethnological and sociological aspects of their life are relatively well known, and we know that the secret societies were numerous and powerful. The Mbete do not have any centralized political organization; like other ethnic groups in this region, they practice ancestor worship, and use guardian figures to protect as well as venerate the bones and memories of ancestors.
In the African art world, they are known almost solely for their larger guardian figures. The figures are normally white in color from the application of kaolin clay. The back of these figures is normally carved out forming a cavity which is usually used for the storage of ancestral bones or other smaller relics that would be tied to the particular ancestor. The massive reliquary figures, statues and masks of the Mbete are cubist in structure, the stepped hair-dress having clearly-marked gradations, and the face frequently being painted white.
Heads and busts were probably positioned on poles and placed in front of the chief’s house. Their purpose was probably for the warding off of evil. |
