ts

'uortdrrf sep Flrtdl€uBoqldsdu-relsed! olur urrol er{]Jo uorlrr;dorddtar lueler eroru

eql etrdsep surcurer rl puy '(saorld duetu ur pesn dTJtreue8

erour ,^d.ou v n[-n[ -otlei eqt legt p ro3) surcruer r{Jlr{^a

uorlrcqddr u?llJJty ut dq perurlddns seznr a-rn11nc uead

-oJng Ielerpour ur lxeluoo slr eleJ Lue 1y 'srasn ueedo.rng

Pu€ u€frJJy uee.^$eg sr euoF ]e1 's.resn uErr{Y lf,urtsrPdp:ntpc sll W dq dr,u. arues eqt ur pootsrepun se..v\ trJr

repuo,^a pls .{etu e,la 'os ua,rg 'lq8noqr3o urelled ro llel-qoJo d.ro8aleo elqesruSocer e ot reJer ol rurrlr eruos p?q

tr .{ruef,Jnf prol dgereqt Surure8 u1 'ossqaf tuter ur8prduErr4v tsel[t er{l olur palnlusurrl Jalel xr11 'oJqta{ p

pe>lpr selrJcrrru esen8nl;o4 tsr5 eqJ 'Erl{V pue edornguee.^ teq suorleluo{uoc d1.rea eql ur urSr.ro ue sEq .qsrleJ,'Jlestr ruret eql;o.{Solorudre eqi3o &zrr dq sr uonturldxe

Jo puH aruos spr€,lAol elnoJ 'elrpnre eJour 'puooas 11'ltg ro €orues lse>lre6l ou

'e>ls?[V ro orrxetrAJ lse>l]?Cl due dern eures er{t etrnb ur tous?,l.r eregt dq,u.:epuo.u, ot Uel fins ert e,^a gSnoqr - suol]

-epunoJ I€f,rrolsrq q3noua ernres s€q elrgv lnslqsltoJJo

ernJef rre3 eql'aleudorddtur re.tartro11'ssaco.rd drorerold

-xo eql ur uorsslu Sursrutrlsrrq3 Jo tuerua^lo uI eqt ol3urqteruos seao tqnop ou snrn?saql oglJo euol tltslleJoru

eqJ 'qrroJ os pu€ ',3urop-p.te, ',l;ercqctrarr, '.drqsro.u.

-11 ap, '.dr]r1opl, :oro3ag pue drntuar gtuaetauru eqt ruoguo Suue8url Surqsern dr.rrp.reqrogo eBeSStq ? qll^\ olrrof,

qtog 'uDI€ dlasolc ere efl{17 tse{req tnoqe ssrnooslp

eqt3o dlrrrrfr8eu aql pu? (qslleJ, rurel er{lJo dlr.trle8eu

eqa 'sqde.rSouotu porSolodo:qrue roIIJ?e oqlJo eruos

pue slroder .srellelerl 'e.rn1t.retq ur parelsoJ uaag a^eq t?q]suorldauad pet€Ilosst eqr putJIastI ElIgVJo uorltroldxa

aql;o fuolsrg eloq.^ ' egt sI euo 'ecrlrttd slqtJo 'uorteu

-e1dxe ue dltcexe louJI 'txeluol EJo r{lrres ur pe8eurun.r

(ueeq e,req put) eq utr wqt sp.reoqdnc pcrSoloqcdsd

put I?f,IJolslq q8noue snollqo 'lqnop ou 'eie ereqJ',qslteJ,

a^eg lou op 'paqdrur sr rr teq; 'sruroJ srues eql uI su?Il

{r€w uqof €rlJJY l€rlue]ur sern8rJ lr8ew

uopuo'I 'runesnw qsBrrg aqlJo seelsn{erI{V lrrtuaC 'eldoad o8uo;,1

It'te3] (rsrrya) ern8g .:a.ro.o4

-slrrl3 pur smef 'sruqsn141 urlr#17 r{rro51 auop tel 'sueed

-orng pu? suersv 'suecueruy e^rleN '.srepuqsl rgrr€d eqlruor3 slcelqo relrurrs dpeorqgo {let or ppo dlrcurrsrp tueos

plno.^A rl 're 'se8erur qonsJo uorlcnpo.rd eqt ur euol?

lou sr ecrgv u€rerryS-qns 'asrnof,JO 'tueruecrld rraqlur lred luaunuo.rd r pedeld tou s?r{ lueurafuer{ua f,rteql

-see stseSSns trgt derrn ? ur sl?rJeltru perruf-gnu?ru pue

FrnteuJo dter.re,L olor{^A r qtr.ln, perelof, srralqogo pesn

sI tI rerllt1 'senqenb Ieuortttueserder rreql auuer 01 s€ os

drrrr aruos ur passorp ro peqlolJ uaeg e^Er{ qslr{^a slcalqo

go Suqpl ereq tou er? e4t 'ur3r;o ur Iernteu ro lernldpcsdeqr eq 'sloalqo elrlelnurnf,f,r pollel eq rq8rur ta{.^a ol

dysnoroeual tsoru ererlp€ ot surees (gsrtoJ, 'eJI{1r uereqes

-qns ruor; slcelqo ol eluereJer qlr.a,r (grdnur.rd padoldep

eq ol s:eadd? urret eql ler{t sr d1r-rerlncad puolos y'ea.r8rped

pelseluof,un pu? rEepJo rurel IerruqJal E ere.^A IIJIs? pesn sr lr 'peepuy 'uorldr.rosep olrl€u pue dpeloqcs enll

-ruretleJo erg arlt ur (s1uer1c rreqtJo dueugo r?qt tqnopou put) e8esn esnoq uontrne Sutnurluoc dq pes.ropua 'slsrs

-red .qsrle3, se urret ? snolnqeu pue en8e.r. os le 'petues

-erd dlqee8pel.^aou>l asrlv\olrT are sdnorS snoua8rpurgosaureu eqa dqdarSoqtro d:erodureJuof ot uonuane elqe

-pueururof rltr.A perepuar ueuo ',{3o1ounu.rel elrtru pu?

'sertrroqlne pelou uro{ suorltlonb'secuare3lar dpeloqcs

3o dldoutd t &1dsrp ot sultd t? asl^.r:aqto orr san8o1

-eter erues eql 'lsrrJ 'e;eq salzznd Iereles eJ€ ereqJ'(seqsrteJ, s€ peqrrrsep dlSuqre;un ore rolf,r:€ql ul?Jrar

ego srcelqg 'epercd uo sr d.relnqrrol rrrlrureJ r stuarulred

-eC ,elrtnurrd, ro (leqr[, eqr dq pelueserd sanSopttr eq]

Jo reqrunu t uI 'sasnoq uoltrnt ssuopuol ur ecqd 8ur{el3ft Salss uuJnlnr elq eql cNrJIu,4a Jo awrJ lrHJ JV

6ft%'

The Myth of the Fetish

All of this suggests, then, that 'the fetish' is firmly an-chored in the space between cultures, one of the mostpotent zones of mutual misunderstanding. The mostcharacteristic of the objects referred to as 'fetish' comefrom Central Africa. Indeed there is a complex of magicalobjects and practices which involves masquerade, and theuse ofvarious devices for healing and other purposesrvhich, with local variation, is common to peoples fromthe Atlantic Coast right across Central Africa and intoZallnbia and beyond. The term nkisi ts the shared Bantu*'ord for aspects of this complex and is found in use invery widely distant parts of the region. Thus in terms ofmost of the objects illustrated here, and found in the

African section of the exhibition which the volume ac-

companies, nkisi refers both to the nailed images from theKongo on the continent's western shores, and to the

magical figures of the Songye deep into centalZaire.The most familiar of so-called 'fetishes', however,

come from the peoples clustered round the mouth ofs-hat was then the River Congo (and is now the RiverZaire).It is important to recall that here there is a historyof contact with Europe that extends back over 5oo years.

The first Portuguese ships arrived offthe coast in 1482.'Within a decade the sparse Portuguese settlements werereinforced by a significant group of new settlers fromEurope including representatives of a variety of CatholicOrders. And by Easter r49r the first baptism of a local

Kongo chief had taken place. By May the Kongo kingand several local aristocrats had followed suit; and byJulythat same year the first church was already approachingcompletion.l The first catechism was written down in thelocal Kikongo dialect in r556, and a dictionary had been

prepared by 1652.

We do not know for sure the origin of the fetish

figures of the Kongo, nor indeed is it at all likely thatthere could be a single knowable source. Various of these

objects were destroyed with the conversion to Christian-in of the famous Kongo king Alfonso I, and so certainly

predated the late fifteenth-century encounter of Kongorvith the Portuguese. Yet it has been suggested that at

least one form of so-called fetish figure, that which incor-porates nails, is in fact related to certain nailed images as

thev appear in'Western culture. The Kongo objects inquesrion are carved and usually figurative. In addition tonails. r'arious other bits of hardware have often been

driven into them. They are discussed in more detail be-

los-. If of Christian or, more generally, European inspira-

rion. such images would represent an evolution of local

_i+

forms encouraged by acquaintance with what was in-terpreted locally as an equivalent European pracrice.

Several possible links have been canvassed. Aslong ago as rgoT it was suggested by the ethnographerPeschuel-Loesche that nail Gtishes were related to cruci-fixes.2 It is in fact the case that images of Christ on theCross entered Kongo culture in part as an insignia ofchiefly oflice rather than in specifically evangelising con-texts. Locally cast brass crucifixes are a familiar part of theiconography of more recent Kongo art. Whether thesame inspiration lies behind the creation of nailed figuresamong the Kongo is very far from certain. Despite a con-siderable attention to archival sources on the history ofmissionary activity in the Lower Congo area, no solidsupport for this speculation has emerged.

A second link is the possible connection with a

practice of sticking pins into images, which in Europe is

best known as a means of inflicting injury on others.3

Again, there is no supporting evidence of any association.Yet some expectation based on vague notions of thefunctioning of European witchcraft has been a significantpart of the impression cultivated about the use of nailfigures in Central Africa. All the negativify of the term'fetish' has seemed appropriate to these 'ferocious',

'frankly obscene','indecent''scarecrows'.aIn the end, the perception of these objects as 'fetish'

is an entirely spurious external view which classifies

objects regardless of indigenous understanding. Indeed ithas been in situations where an alternative system ofunderstanding, that based on Christian doctrine, was

making significant inroads among the Kongo that they

Power figureSongye people, Central AfricaTrustees of the British Museum, London

ss

'esJnoseJ e^rlseSSns e pe oldosp srg 'Dlesung rr) n€r)-nJ 'roletueruruoc o3uo14

e dq uamr.rr'r pue 696r ruor3 Surtrp legdrurd iloqs yE'perelorsrper dpuece.r pur d-rnluac eql3o ured d1;re aqr

ur pepJoJeJ slcalqo Jql ]noq? slxel elrleuJo uorl€urrurxa

-er € urog peurr8 ueeq seq qrnw 'seSeurgo les xeldurordpnuessa ue 8ur1e.tr:un ur pe^on{le ueeq dpre.rp seq

l?q.^a uo uorlf,eEer ? eJe suorlenresqo Sur.LrolloJ eqJ'.qslteJ, I?rtuesselurnb eql 'lsee1 te uortdeored crlqnd ur

'umue; o] peurlsep e.re daql 'uortrterdrature; dq penlser

urlrag'ePun>lra]Ig^ r.Tu runesnlAl

E)r{V lertuaC '(qr1) aldoed o8uo)( rsrryi;) a.rnB g,ra.r,r,o6

lou er€ deqtg 'ren 'pa-reeddesrp seq uort?redo rraglpepunorrns eJuo leqt pntrr eqt pue depol peqsrururrp seq

sleelqo qlnsJo asn eqI 'F,^Ao^esrpJo stfe qfnsJo llnserllerrp e ueuo sr erag,l osla pur edornggo surnesntu eqlur dtpol pa,L.rese.rd a.rr deqt tc€J er{J 'sreprstno reqlo lo

serJ?uorssrur ol psodsrp .rreql 'elet due 1r ,-ro - uorlf,nJlsep

.rraqr perydur slrelqo qrnsJo doecrge eqt urJerTeq IIeJop,^.o^Esrc 'qsneJJo lse^rrr{ Jqt

^q pelelared s€.^A slnosJo

lse^r?q eqt :uorsre^uor u?rlsrlqSJo uortrpuof elq?tl^euraql s? pa.^aofioJ ]rE txeu eqa 'Surueeru crloquds luereg

-grp e elrnb seSrrur esegt ol etnqrr]]r ot pe8r.rnocue ere \

pBnl:o4'Brqruro3 ep epeprsrJ^run 'orr8olodo.rluy nesnw op eletor1qrg

elr{V I€rluoC 'eldoed o8uo;1 (rsl;7r) a:n8g:a.r,ro4

V]IUJV f YUIN:I] NI SgdNCI'I SICVW

,,,ii:,iit,,iu"dii&fuini,i,',u'l,iili

The 0biec{ and its Function

The images themselves are in a variery of forms: the mostfamiliar in ethnographical collections are a series ofhuman figures carved from a solid block of wood. Theydisplay a wide variery of gestures - with one hand raised

in an apparently threatening manner, hanging by the side,

behind the head, or placed on the hips or the abdomen;Gmale figures sometimes have the hands supporting thebreasts; there are composite images of mother and child;teeth may be bared, tongue hanging out; eyes may be ofwhite porcelain or other material imparting a staringappearance. Sometimes the image may be of an animal,a monkey or, more especially, a dog. Frequently male

figures are encrusted with nails, blades, hooks, chains orother strips of metal. Most have a pack of substances at-tached to the abdomen, often with a mirror or occasion-ally a large cowrie shell embedded in the middle.

Some of these objects are of distinguishable fypes

to which specific names appear to have been applied. Ingeneral, however, all such objects are referred to underthe common term nkisi (or plural minkisi) and are

thought of as containers.6 Thus, in addition to carved

figures, natural objects or other containing devices may

also be used - objects such as a large shell or gourd, or a

cloth bag, a pot or a box made from bark, may also func-rion as the nkisi.'What is contained is, in a narrow physi-

cal sense, a series of elements which collectively act as

medicines or magically charged substances. These include

chalk, white kaolin, charcoal, earth from graves, seeds,

resin and so forth.Without these elements the nkisi is neutralised. 'With

them, however, the object is imbued with an empower-ing spirit also known as nkisi. The object therefore 'is'

nkisi in the more profound sense that nkisi is contained

rvithin it by virtue of the substances assembled on the

object. Nkisi is conceived as a power emanating from the

unseen world of the dead, an omniscient force which is

otherwise inaccessible to human perception. In being

persuaded into taking up residence in a particular con-tained space, however, it has somehow emerged manipu-lable by human agency. Those who control the object are

the nganga, a class of what might be called priests, whoeffect the ritual sequences in which the powers of the

nkisi are activated on behalf of individual clients or com-munities as a whole. The powers, however, are not gen-

eral but personalised and specific to individual objects

rvhich often bear their own name. Indeed they may

acquire a reputation for their own pre-eminence.

56

Power figure (nkki) [Crt.a]Kongo people, Central AfricaTrustees of the.British Museum, London

Nklsi, then, are dynamic animated objects. Theyfunction at the behest of human operators; and theirrange of activity is extensive. They may be used inmagico-medical contexts to promote healing; and theycan have a detective function in identi$'ing thieves orcatching adulterers. Some have a juridical aspect and may

provide judgement or punishment. They link in to sys-

tems of divination and assist in identifying the perpetra-tors of witchcraft. They may be consulted to enhance

onet own chances of good fortune or to curse others.

Admittedly the purposes of rrlei-si are ambiguous.

iriiliiiiiiliiir,,,r.,,,.r i,, t .l,

LS

uapra'I'3pun>lua>llo^ loo^ Iunasnluqle{e)r{v IErluaJ 'aldoed oSuo)

deluotu eJo rxroJ eqr ur (tslrya) arn8g ra.,rro4

uopuo'I 'runesnw qsrtrrg Jr{lJo saotsnJJ

e)r.rJv IertueC 'eldoad oSuo;1

[S'te3] (rr4l) a:n8g :e.r,ro4

V]IUJV'IYUIN!I3 NI SgUNCI{ ]ICYW

JOHN MACK

Power figure (nklsl)

Kongo people, Central AfricaRautenstrauch-Joest-Museum fiir Volkerkunde,Cologne

58

They are a locus of ritual activiry and an animated, em-powered object. Are they, then, really to be regarded as

that restricted, impulsive kind of construction which theappellation 'fetish' implies in a European context? Dis-cussion of this phenomenon in relation to African arthas generally proceeded by way of a distinction berweenr\rvo types of object. Thus William Fagg, for instance, indiscussing Teke sculpture from the People's Republic ofCongo, wrote: 'Some of these figures are ancestor figuresbut others are true fetishes, that is they are not made inhonour of any particular spirit but are powerful in them-selves and made for a particular purpose, good or bad.'7

Generally, this contrast between positive, often person-alised ancestor sculpture, and the negative impersonal

rype of image associated with magical projection is taken

to be coherent with a broad distinction between themore overtly aesthetic carving of the ancestor figure and

the accumulative character of the 'fetish'.In Central Africa the division is most readily justi-

fied in the apparent contrast between the nkisi festoonedwith its accompaniment of nails, blades, fragments ofcloth and mirror glass, and the smooth sublime sculpture,

often shiny as if varnished, and produced, for example,

by the Kuba and the Hemba deeper into Zaire. Bluntly,the one appears to be the product of an ill-considered,vaguely magical process where aesthetic factors are en-tirely secondary; the other looks to have been deliberatelytreated to enhance its aesthetic qualities, a result of theaffectionate approach to a fabled ancestor commemoratedin sculpture.

Here I want to argue that in concentrating on outerappearance without asking how and why these effects

have come about, we miss the point. Contrary to expec-tation, what we see on the sudace is not the essence ofthe object but rather the inteface between the hiddeninner world of the animating spirit and the outer fragileworld of the human supplicant. This is a critical relation-ship whose immediate field of operation is the suface ofthe object, but whose context is what happens invisible

to perception within the object and that whole sequence

of ritual action which surrounds the approach to the

world of the spirits. In this respect they are much like themask whose external appearance is often as important forwhat it hides (the masker, but also the spirit or otherentity which by definition is unseeable) as for what itexpresses.

Let us examine the extremes of this distinction: the

Kongo nail fetish and the king figures of the Kuba. TheKuba kingdom is another of the elaborate historical poli-ties of Zaire and one sharing certain artistic preoccupa-

6S

uJAneT'trelrsre^run e>lerloqlex

elrryv lrrluec 'eldoad oSuox

[62 le3] aprer (s,rFulrfz) s,lsar:4

sr .Aao^ e trql tue^e aqt ur 'pue ryuo4u eql o1 qr€ord-de eql sesrleuosred srqf 'E^rles sdeq.red ro rreq 6r{tolr

- tueruJle 8ur$rfuapr etuos peqrElte sr srqt oI 'I€u roep?Iq ?Jo ur Surnrrp eqt dq sr Surltttepun uE Surrurrgr rouorluelur pnplzrtpur ue Surxg ro Surpurg30 poqteru eqJ

,,'8urryl-qlro qrns Jeqlo pue 's.uon uorlerlrur urJguof ol'uorlesnffr lng8uor,u Jreql slJOSst euoeuros eJaq,AA etuel-ouurJo suollrlselle esJopue ol 'serlrunruruoo pesoddoueo.^Ateq sertea-rl .!4e.r o1 uodn pelec a.re.(eqt qlns sy'.qslreJ, eJo uorlrtfedxe puorlueluor aqt dp.req - 8ur

-purq pur enrl?lrroqtne s8urlelrepun pur sr{l?o rapuer olsr tpul4uuu o1 qceo.rdde pdrcuud eqt 'petseSSns (uerurl

pre.A pg 1-rey d.rruorssru qsrpa,^as er{lJo qrrerser aqt ruogSurllnsa.r asoql dpreru) suorlrcrpur d1.rre sr '.rane,uoq lsuorl

-runj peurtuepr3o dleuen € eleq ryuo4utw'uorllg u?ql.re8ue.rls sI qln{ 'eq ol lno epeur sourrteuros sr lr e8rrur

p3a8ue.t d18unlnue:un eqt t?qr IIe roJ lou sr tr tnq 'Surtep

-rrrrtur arour eql dlurrlrec s ryuo4u er{l 'o,^ l oqtJo'eJeueur Surdpapun ue sur€luof

tuetxo ltgt ot qlII^A pur 'drlcedrc urrung purrou speerxa

qrlqrA re,nnod €Jo uortrassr ue Ie^el ouo tE 'uoql (er? r{tog'lcalqo u? st uorldofuol slrJo 1.red r sr lf,eds€ errrsserSSt

dlerr;eqrlep e ryuo>luttu erltJo es?J agt uI 'drqs8urqgo

lxetuor Iegre^ eloq,^ eqtJo tnq 'sdeqred e.rn8g 3ur1 eqt

Jo eruerreddr pnsr,r oqt Jo tou lreds€ .ts - ffg1se1earq1

sl slr{J 'uorsrl tuedo^rr?Ir Ieuorldecxe ur sessessod oq,r,r

Pur uoesun put euoP se^our oq,^A qrtr,^A eqr ol poue>lll

uorsuelxe dq sr 3ur1 eqt treds€ srqt uI or'.euole sJunq

1€gl prurue eql, 'prrdosl er{r oi ung selrrlosse 3uq eqnyaqlJo seurtu esre.rd luel.rodrur eroru eglJo euo 'oo1 'og

'lunq erueS pesrurSro ur ur lucdnrged e urql reqlr-r euoltslunq og,^ euoeruosJo ssues eqt seq qrrq,^A spu04 prol\|.

eql ruo5 Surnr.rep ruJel eql ',;elunq, su€eur ryuo4u ]cql

6sn sflet degegceyg '(rpuo>1uuu p-rn1d) ryuo4u se u.Aaou>l sI

qreu dq poteurtuop sr qrnl,^a !s!>lu Jo addt eHt 'sngJ 'sernl

-eeJ lenldecuo3 uoruuroJ etuos eJ€qs sa8ttut qloq 'seJut

-rreddr etrdsap 'leql uorlrrrpur Frtrur ouros sr erer{J'.re,ro.od pdo.rgo drerurlr8el tuopuuor er{tJo tuauryoq

-rue dJaA er{l (eJnlrrJlrod peuger sr Jeglo egl - 8,se3ttul

I^ep, - dselur3 pcr8augo eur8ue ur3o eldrurxe elrur

-n1n eqt se dgtct;otsrq peqlnsep sI euo eqJ 's8ur1 eqnypet?es pegru8rp er{lJo sruroJ pepunor pesoduoc aqt

pue sem8g peu Surllsrrq eqr ueqt esn tuer?dde pue elut-rreddr3o sturet ul pelourer rer{lrnJ eq ppor Surqlou lea'slre rrer{tJo seldruexe lserlr?J ogl ur tuepr.ta sr sr 'sloelqo

uo Suru.ralted orreruoa8Jo sertqrqrssod eqr Surnsrnd ur

tsoreJur pedola,r.ep ? e ?q 'ofu?lsur ro3 'qlog 'suortdurnss€

Jrtsru?Jo tes uoruurol r pereqs e,\tq deqr teqt ts?el 1r ro

'1srd turlsrp eql ur reqlo qf,?e peJuengur dlenlntu e,trq?qn) pu€ o8uo;1 lrqt alqrssod sr t1 'o8uo; oql qtr^\ suorl

V]ItIJY -IVf,JNg] NI SgUNCI'I SICVW

JOHN MACK

broken or a guilry supplicant wrongfully protests his orher innocence, unerringly identifies the impostor. In such

cases the nkondi enacts retribution. Similarly the power ofthe figure may also be used for forensic purposes. Thievesmay be identified by driving in a nail with the remains ofstolen goods attached. The driving in of the nail in thefirst place is conceived as activating, angering the nkki-spirit - hence the threat which underwrites its power andits appearance when unjust or fraudulent causes are

brought to it.More private affairs may also be revealed to min-

kondi. Thus, where someone anticipates that their ownsuccess may cause disruptive and envious response inothers, the fear may be allayed by fixing it through the

driving in of a nail. In such matters the nkondi affordspersonal moral protection. Likewise it may right wrongs.Someone unjustly accused may draw out a nail placed inthe figure on their behalf as proof of their innocence.Such an act undertaken by the guilry would have fatal

results.

Despite the rhetoric, the blades are often placed

on the image so as to create a symmetrical effect. Thereis some suggestion that this arrangement coheres withKongo notions of completeness. It has the efFect, ofcourse, of making the task of the ritual specialist in re-membering the cause represented by each inserted blade

or nail much more diffrcult than would an eccentric dis-position. Even so, such a feat of memory is required ofthe nganga. The method of annulling a vow or of re-versing an affatr wrongfully presented is to withdraw the

appropriate nail. On the more heavily used of images this

may involve a selection amongst upwards of zoo blades

and their associated causes. Should the wrong one be ex-tracted the power of the nkisi-spirit thus released wouldrecoil upon the operator to dire effect.

Symmetry is also a feature of those types of nailed

image which, instead of humans, portray animals. Themost familiar is that of the dog, kozo. Here the medicine

pack is placed in the centre of the back, and each half ofthe object is conceived as the image of the other resulting

in a double-headed sculpture. The dog is an importantcategory of animal in the symbolic systems of the Kongoand other Central African peoples. Its capaciry for being

at home in both a domestic village context and at findingits way through the forest makes it an apt vehicle for ex-pressing relationships between the living and the dead orother spirits. Just as they can by their sense of smell track

dorvn game, so they can hunt out evil-doing. And, stand-

ing as they do at this conceptual divide between the

human and ancestral realms, it is sometimes said that they

6o

Charm gown [Cat.7]Asante people, GhanaTrustees of the British Museum, London

Power figure (n&lsi )Kongo people, Central AfricaPitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

r9

'lxeu eql

or plro,^ euo uro5 e8tsstd r?llruls E s? ueas $ qt?ep putr{ulqJo ssecord eql 'uorsuetxe dg 'peua1e.u,e atr 3urnr1

aqt pue tser p€ep oql 'Suluroru eqt uI seslr rI sV 'p?eP

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Yf Iu{V f YdINal NI SAUOCI:l lICVhl

.IOH\ .\IACK

Thus, the use of the mirror appears, additionally,to recall elements of this cosmogram. The water that lies

between the two universes may be a river, the AtlanticOcean, or simply a pool. ln fact, certain deep poolsprovide one point of entry into the world of the dead.

The mirrors on minkondi appear to function as a similarconduit.

Even this necessarily abbreviated account of Kongoideas suggests that so complex an object as the nkondi isanything but the impulsive product of a self-regardingobsession. What we see on the suface of the object, andwhat is so absurdly misrepresented in the lingering dis-cussion of 'fetish', is a stage in a whole series of on-goingtransactions between the living and the dead, assembled,

contained in one powerful image. The driving in of thenails is not, then, a casual act of magical fantasy but a dra-matic, presumptive and inherently dangerous act whichpierces the suface that lies berween the two domains.From the reading of the various ethnographical and his-torical accounts of Kongo, the nkondi emerges as a kindof progressive archive of complex spiritual interactionsplayed out on the suface of the object so as to give shape

to human experience.

The Sharp and the Shiny

Suface is no less important to the treatment, and thus

the understanding, of ndop, the king figures of the Kuba.They have never been thought of as in any sense fetishobjects. Yet there are significant areas of comparabilitybetween what are conventionally presented as tlvo dia-metrically opposed rypes of African image.

Just as the Kongo spirits of the dead are identifiedrvith an underwater realm, so, too, the Kuba associate a

category of nature spirits, the ngesh, with marshy, wateryplaces, the sources of streams and deep forest pools. These

spirits are fickle; they survey and influence affairs in the

rillages of the living often in unexpected directions. Theyremain unseen and inherently dangerous. But they can be

approached and consulted in divination.The king himself is regarded as such a being: an

ngesh, a spiritual figure with the power over life and

death. King figures are carved for each successive holderof royal offlce and portray them, not in the sense of cre-ating a physical likeness, but by incorporating an emblemon the front of the sculpture which recalls some innova-rion rvith which the king has been associated - the intro-ducrion of a game board, skill at metal-working, and so

6z

forth. Over time they acquire a deep, shiny, heavily vaFnished appearance. This is the result of them being oiledregularly by the royal wives in the course of use. Suchapplications occur on two particular occasions. The firstis during the installation of kings when the new incum-bent sleeps in a room with all the figures representing hispredecessors. This procedure is seen as a method of incu-bating in him the spirit of kingship, those extra-humancapacities which, among the living, kings uniquely pos-sess. The second is to ensure the continuing presence ofsuch kingly powers even when the king himself is absenton a journey outside his capital.

The action of rubbing, then, is not the sentimentalpractice of an owner in relation to a much-treasuredobject. It is, rather, a process intended to activate theobject, to wake up and thus release its inherent powers.This idea of massaging as a method of activating is foundelsewhere in Kuba culture. Thus, like the Kongo, theKuba also identifiz the dog's faciliry for finding its way inthe forests, the domain of spirits, with a forensic abilityequivalent to that spirits themselves possess. Small imagesof dogs (among other appropriate animals) are carved andused in divination.la The method is to rub a disc, dippedin oil or saliva (as the nails driven into minkondi ), across

the back of the image. It stops once the answer beingsought has been identified from a list of possible solutionsspoken out by the operator. Again a well-rubbed shinysuface results.

-Women likewise rub a mixture of oil and powdered

red wood (which is also applied to king figures) on theirbodies. The exposed stomach is the most usual site, andthe stomach is also often carefully incised with the pat-terns which Kuba other-wise apply to certain types oftextile, and to carved images. To describe the action as

one of beautification is to miss part of the point; rubbingwith oil also encourages fecundiry.

It is notable that the Kuba, in addition to shiningup certain kinds of object, also deliberately dull others.At night ceremonies intended to promote fertiliry andassociated with the phases of the moon, special woodenversions of ceremonial swords and knives are used. Nodoubt this is in part for the very practical reason that itaverts the possibility of accidental injury in the semi-darkness. 'Women, however, also cover their heads toavoid the moon from shining directly on them. If theywere to be exposed to moonlight on these ceremonialoccasions they would risk infertiliry. Likewise the avoid-ance of shiny, metal-bladed weaponry seems to have an

additional motivation, that of affording protection against

spiritual dangers. A general association ofreflective sur-

t9

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