They may be embroidered on raffia cloth, painted on women's bodies, carved
on wooden cups and boxes, or woven into mats for the walls of houses and palaces.Luba
Art of the Luba kingdom, in the southeastern part of the DRC, also emphasized
the power of the king. Symbols of royal authority included carved three-pronged
stands to hold bows used in hunting. The bow stands were considered too sacred
for public display and were kept in carefully guarded rooms within the palace.
They were decorated with a seated female figure, hands placed on her breasts.
Her gesture symbolized women's power to reproduce and was in turn a symbol of
political power. Luba artists also created carved wooden stools supported by
similar female figures, as well as headrests and bowls decorated with figures.
Mangbetu Royal patronage was also the driving force behind artistic traditions
of the Mangbetu kingdom, in the northern DRC. Among the objects produced for
the rulers were decorative clay cups in the shape of women's heads, with elongated
foreheads and fanlike hairstyles. The cups' shapes made them awkward for drinking,
so they doubtless had another function. Some scholars have described them as
portraits of ancestors or as memorials for dead rulers, but recent research
has revealed that they were made for display and tourism. Mangbetu rulers, especially
Chief Okondo, who ruled the Mangbetu until 1915, gave the cups as gifts to visiting
African and European dignitaries. Among the other art forms of the Mangbetu
were freestanding figures, pots, mural painting, decorated bark cloth, and metalwork.
Kongo The Kongo people live along the lower Congo River in the western DRC and
in neighboring countries. In addition to the brass crosses discussed earlier,
the Kongo are noted for several distinctive types of sculpture. Wooden figures
known as nkisi nkondi, or power sculptures, embody spiritual potency.
They are used to harness spiritual forces to heal illness, seal agreements,
protect against thieves or mishaps, or weaken an enemy. The body of the figure
is simplified, while the face, hands, and feet are more elaborate. A person
activates the figure's powers by driving nails and iron blades into it, or in
some cases putting items in a medicine bag attached to the figure . Among Kongo
women, dress and body decoration, including elaborate scarification patterns,
were important markers of status and beauty. Although scarification is rarely
practiced today, many of the patterns are recorded on small, finely carved images
of nursing women, known as phemba. Other Kongo sculpture includes carved soapstone
figures that marked the graves of wealthy Kongo traders from the late 19th century
to about 1920. B6Mukanda Masks The Chokwe, Lunda, and other groups in northern
Zambia, northern Angola, and southern DRC create a series of masks for use during
and after mukanda rites, which initiate boys into manhood.
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