Fetish Nkisi - Bakongo - DR Congo

The nkisi fetishes of the Bakongo are among the most powerful expressions of Central African ritual art: these wooden sculptures — sometimes anthropomorphic, sometimes zoomorphic — are designed to host active spiritual forces intended to act on the visible and invisible worlds. The term nkisi literally means “medicine” or “embodied spiritual force,” and the sculpture only becomes efficient after the insertion of sacred substances (bilongo) by a ritual specialist called nganga.

In the examples shown for sale at Christie’s, these figures often feature a ventral or cranial cavity containing bilongo, sometimes sealed with a mirror or glass, meant to reflect and channel the spirits; inlays of metallic elements, nails or blades are added to the body to “awaken” the power of the nkisi during invocation, protection, healing, or social justice rituals.

A particular type, the nkisi nkondi, is characterized by a dense accumulation of nails and metal objects: these figures are designed as spiritual hunters, tasked with tracking sorcerers, protecting communities, or sealing oaths.

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