2-734-551 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Male Figure, late 1800s-early 1900s. A typical example of a type of nkisi or spirit container known as nkondi (from the verb konda , "to hunt") this figure once held a spear in its raised arm. The empty stomach cavity, which would have contained the medicinal substances that gave the sculpture particular powers, indicates that the figure may have been discarded before being sold. Each iron nail, screw, and wedge—a combination of both local smiths work and European imports—represents a case that was brought to the ritual specialist ( nganga ) for diagnosis and intervention. The action of driving iron objects into the nkisi was intended to arouse it, enabling it to see the intentions of the defendant's enemy.