Songye Fetish Figure OLD African Statue Congo Zaire DRC Start Price USD 645.00 Current Price USD 645.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, July 18, 2008 End Time Friday, July 25, 2008 Location Santa Fe, NM See more about 'Songye Fetish Figure OLD African Statue Congo Zaire DRC' Description   Songye Fetish Figure OLD African Statue Congo Zaire DRC     A Delightful Old Songye Male Power Figure Carved Fetish StatueAntique African Art - Tribal Sculpture - Democratic Republic of Congo Zaire Collected from the: Songye peoples of the Congo (Zaire) region of Central AfricaMaterial: Carved wood, woven fiber, skin oil, pigmentPeriod: Early to mid 20th centuryDimensions: 14.5" height, 4" width, 4.5" depth; weight is 1.60 poundsCondition: Exceptional. From a private Houston collection, exquisite signs of age and wear from authentic tribal use, anatomically correct (we peaked), minor nick to lower left chin and minute age cracks test stable. Make special note of the superb surface condition and burnished skin oil patina indicative of extensive use and ritual rubbing which greatly enhance the personality of this delightful old character ! Please click on the photos below to fully appreciate this splendid old figure ! And be sure to see the exquisite AFRICAN SCULPTURES in our eBay store! Or explore our fascinating AFRICAN FIGURES in our eBay store! Click Images to Enlarge Songye Scultpure Carving Traditions:Songye sculpture conforms to certain magico-social standards and is fashioned under the direction of a ritual specialist, the Nganga. For small-scale sculptures, the Nganga solicits the sculpture and imposes criteria on the creation of the work such as dimensions, sex, morphological aspect, and type of wood. Only the Nganga himself or the future user of a work can commission a piece to be made. Sculptors shelter themselves from the scrutiny of other villagers and protect themselves from evil spirits during all parts of the process. The felling of a tree for a large fetish is accompanied by onsite chants, dances and sacrifices. Completed sculptures are sprinkled with the blood of animals sacrificed for that purpose before the work is given over to the Nganga who then empowers the object by adding magical-symbolic ingredients such as metal accessories, claws, raffia cloth, skin, horns, seeds, beads, feathers, and hair according to the prescribed function of the work ? be it offensive or defensive. Most Songye sculptures are male figures, statues of females, especially pregnant ones, are extremely rare. Statues of power have many different forms and functions: cult collectives use the large statues; individual cults and private owners may use medium-sized statues; and individuals also use amulets for protection, healing, warding off sorcerers and evil spirits, and assisting in fertility and material prosperity. Statues with brass tacks would have been considered useful against skin irritations and the smallpox epidemics that raged within Songye territory in relatively recent times. The statues are guarded within the owner?s houses and are well cared for. Their care may involve ritual rubbings with oils, sometimes mixed with the red tukula powder on the appearance of the new moon to renew the figure?s power and maintain harmonious relations with the ancestors. See Maurer?s Spirits Embodied: Art of the Congo for a more detailed account of this fascinating form. History of the Sognye Tribe of Democratic Republic of Congo Zaire?During the 16th century, the Songye migrated from the Shaba area, now the southern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), and settled on the left bank of the Lualaba River, on a savannah and forest-covered plateau. Divided into numerous sub-groups, the 150,000 Songye people are governed by a central chief, the Yakitenge, whose role demands that he obey special restrictive laws such as not showing grief, not drinking in public, and not shaking hands with men. In addition, local rulers, the Sultani Ya Muti, distribute plots of land to their villagers and an influential secret society, Bwadi Bwa Kifwebe, counterbalances their power. A patriarchal society heavily dependant on agriculture, the Songye are most recognized for their masks, fetishes statues, and weapons. Kifwebes (meaning masks in the Songye tongue) represent magic spirits or supernatural forces and are used by the important Bwadi Bwa Kifwebe Society to protect and heal their tribal members and villages. The Kifwebe spirits were of such great importance to the Songye that the Kifwebe Society used representations of their masks on other objects of power, such as shields adorned with a central mask. Songye masks were primarily used during death or funeral rites, initiation ceremonies, and circumcision rituals, where initiated male dancers performed the ceremonies and rituals. Male masks were danced to display aggressive and uncontrolled behavior with the aim of encouraging social conformity while female masks displayed the more gentle and controlled movements associated with reproduction,? according to Bacquart. 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