A fine powerfigure of the Songye people living in Congo. Ex collection of the late Jacques Chaboto, a wellknown collector in Congo. Now in my private Dutch collection. A male Songye fetish, a Nkisi/Nkondi powerfigure. Details about this small powerfigures with numerous hand-crafted conical nails are to find in the famous book of the late Francois Neyt: SONGYE, starting on plate 104. The body is partly covered with nails. In his book Neyt on page 351 he writes: in rare cases, figures are completely covered in brass nails, the intire body. Material: wood, beads, horn, reptileskin, textile, cowry shells, plantfibres, ritual materials. Iron has a protective quality. The eyes are made of cowryshells, the mouth is without teeth. The protuding navel made out of brass. A round base. This type of statue has been collected from the Eki and the Tempa. It is a piece for protecting an individual person, a reason why this type of figures are hard to find.