Power figure (nkisi)
Yaka
Description
(African Art and the Shape of Time; August 18, 2012-February 3, 2013)
14. Power figure (nkisi)
Yaka peoples, probably late 19th–early 20th century, wood, pigment, animal horn, string, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of Dr. James and Vivian Curtis, 1997/1.346
This striking assemblage is an nkisi, a container for spiritual forces made potent by an nganga (religious expert), allowing it to act on behalf of people in the material world. Its main component is a bushbuck horn, which may be understood metaphorically as a spiral through time, its twists and curves alluding to an nkisi’s ability to rupture the symmetry between this world and the spirit world to let powerful forces manipulate the normal order of space and time.
Subject Matter:
Nkisi is a generic term for a class of power objects. These objects are employed as solutions to social and physical problems. They are ritually charged objects, able to facilitate movement of spirits between differnet points of existence.
Physical Description:
Carved wooden human figure attached to an animal's horn. A plug or mushroom shaped projection extends from the human figure's head.
Usage Rights:
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