Power bundle
The shell (kodya) of the giant West African snail (Archachatina marginata) is the focus of this figure. According to early accounts, it was used to treat problems of the womb and the gut. In Kongo culture, a child in the womb was compared to a snail in its shell.
Attached to the shell by strands of fibre are several charms. These include a spiral shell (Tympanotomus fuscatus) which originates from the Congo river estuary. It was called zinga, which means ‘to live’.
Minkisi (sing. nkisi)
When Europeans first encountered power figures (minkisi) in the Congo, they believed them to be man-made deities (‘fetishes’) that were worshipped. However, minkisi belonged to an age-old complex cosmology, one that was centred on a reciprocating universe. This meant that there existed a constant interchange between the visible ‘world of the living’ and the invisible ‘world of the dead’. Minkisi created a physical connection between these worlds.
Their potency included ‘medicinal’ substances (bilongo) that would help to bind the powers of the invisible world to the figure. Bilongo included ingredients associated with the specific ability of the figure. They could be used to heal, alleviate hardship, locate witches or bring harm – they were mainly created for the benefit of people.
Minkisi were activated by a specialist called an nganga. Power figures were constructed with great care to produce a visual effect, they were viewed as items of great power. When not in use they were stored in the nganga’s hut.
Attached to the shell by strands of fibre are several charms. These include a spiral shell (Tympanotomus fuscatus) which originates from the Congo river estuary. It was called zinga, which means ‘to live’.
Minkisi (sing. nkisi)
When Europeans first encountered power figures (minkisi) in the Congo, they believed them to be man-made deities (‘fetishes’) that were worshipped. However, minkisi belonged to an age-old complex cosmology, one that was centred on a reciprocating universe. This meant that there existed a constant interchange between the visible ‘world of the living’ and the invisible ‘world of the dead’. Minkisi created a physical connection between these worlds.
Their potency included ‘medicinal’ substances (bilongo) that would help to bind the powers of the invisible world to the figure. Bilongo included ingredients associated with the specific ability of the figure. They could be used to heal, alleviate hardship, locate witches or bring harm – they were mainly created for the benefit of people.
Minkisi were activated by a specialist called an nganga. Power figures were constructed with great care to produce a visual effect, they were viewed as items of great power. When not in use they were stored in the nganga’s hut.
Object Summary
- Accession Loan No.
- 9/1889/81
- Category
- Ethnography
- Collection Class
- Religion and magic
- Collection Area Region
- CENT
- Material
- shell (Tympanotomus fuscatus)potteryfibreseedsclaw
- Common Name
- power bundle
- Simple Name
- power figure
- Production County
- Kingdom of Kongo
- Production Country
- Congo, Democratic Republic of
- Production Year Low
- 1879
- Production Year High
- 1889