Tabwa enthronement figure - DR Congo

This type of symbolic African sculpture is common among the Tabwa, an ethnic group in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, around Lake Tanganyika. It was used during enthronement rites.
Granular black patina, velvety. Desiccation crack.

The tribes of this region, such as the Tumbwe, venerate the mipasi ancestors through sculptures kept by chiefs or witches. A magical charge (dawa) was frequently placed at the top of the statue's head. Diviners-healers used this type of object to reveal sorcery and protect against malevolent spirits.
Simple farmers without centralized power, the Tabwa ("scarify" and "to write") were animists, and their beliefs are anchored around the ngulu, nature spirits present in plants and rocks.