Songye figure - Figura - Congo

Once completed, the nkishi was kept in a special enclosure positioned in a highly visible location, such as the center of the village or near the chief’s house. It was cared for by a guardian who also served as an interpreter for the nkishi whose messages were received through dreams or spirit possession. Collective consultations occurred following specific dreams or nightmares, and recurrently during celebrations related to the appearance of the new moon – an essential symbol of new life, fertility, and wealth associated with the human life-cycle. On those occasions, the nkishi was taken out of its enclosure to be recharged by the moon’s life-force. It was sprinkled with the blood of a sacrificed chicken and anointed with palm oil, giving it its distinctive shiny patina. It was carried in procession through the village but could not be touched due to its great potency: instead, wooden poles attached under its arms with raffia strings had to be used. In the Met’s example, the raffia strings attached around the figure’s wrists are all that remains of this means of manipulation.

Spirits of the dead, whether benevolent or malevolent, were thought to interfere in individuals’ daily affairs. Mankishi were used for a community’s well-being, assuring fertility, protecting against illnesses, and generally keeping malevolent forces at bay. Their commissioning reflected a fear that disruptive forces would damage the village’s unity. Hersak states that mankishi “provided the assurance of continuity and oneness in the context of drastic population decrease and disintegration of large-scale chiefships during the last three decades of the 19th century” (Hersak 2010: 41). They represented a collective identity and could survive generations. Communal mankishi were given honorific names and their existence was remembered well after they ceased to be used. They eventually served as markers of time, as civic events came to be associated with the period of a specific nkishi’s activity.

Provenance: old american collection
Montagut Gallery Barcelona
Adrian Schlag, Brussels