Tabwa Male 'Mikisi' Figure
Tribe: Tabwa
Country: Democratic Republic of Congo
Material: Wood
Size: 16.5" (42 cm) Tall
Condition: Good, see images for bug damage. (Item has been treated and is bug free.)
Status: SOLD - Private Collection - California, USA.
The Tabwa, who live adjacent to the Luba, have no unified history, and the relationships of the many people who claim to be Tabwa are complex.
Tabwa art developed over a fairly short period during the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Sculptures reflected more on great families than on leaders. Tabwa lineage elders kept small wooden images to represent and honor ancestor spirits, great healers, and occasionally earth spirits. Such figures, called mikisi, were given specific names and kept in special buildings. Lineage elders occationally slept near than to receive ancestral inspiration.
This figure is typical of Tabwa carving styles. The long braid, looped back hairstyle was worn by Tabwa men, as opposed to the cap like hairdo of Tabwa women. The figure displays elaborate scars in double rows of raised patterns. Such adornments was aesthetically pleasing and served anerotic role, but also served as visual metaphors that implied positive social values and the harmony of natural forces.
*A History of Art in Africa - isbn: 0-13-183356-1
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