Bembe Ancestor Statue, D.R. Congo, Zambia, African Tribal Sculpture

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Seller: joburger63 ✉️ (1,508) 100%, Location: Marlo, AU, Ships to: WORLDWIDE, Item: 132738542680 Bembe Ancestor Statue, D.R. Congo, Zambia, African Tribal Sculpture.        Item : Bembe Ancestor Figure. Origin : Both Congo Republics & Zambia (see ethnographic notes below) Size : 19.5 x 5.5 x 5 cm  Medium : Timber carving, pigment. Note : Sale does not include display plinth.        Shipping

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African Origins sells tribal objects which have been used, in some cases, for many, many years. We ask that you carefully study the photographs relating to each object prior to committing to purchase. In the event that you are unhappy with your purchase for any reason, we accept refunds within seven days of purchase. We offer a full refund or a credit note valid for twelve months, which ever you prefer.

 

About African Origins

  African Origins has been trading online since 2007. We are constantly on the look out for interesting objects to add to our collection. Our tribal collection is sourced from tribal dealers,auction houses, private collections the world over and also collected in the field.. Where possible, we will specify the provenance of important individual tribal objects.

 

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The Bembe form a small group of 60 to 80,000 people; they live on the plateaus situated to the north of the Zaire River, as well as on the shores of Stanley Pool and in the cities of Brazzaville, Dolisie, and Pointe-Noire. The Bembe had close contacts with their neighbors the Teke, but Kongo contributions were essential to their culture and traditions. Their social organization was based on the matrimonial clan, whose members could live in several villages. The family unit generally included three generations. The chief in charge of the village, the nga-bula, mediated with the ancestors.

 

 was the main activity; before leaving on a hunt, the leader would invoke the ancestral spirits, using as intermediaries statuettes kneeling in the position of a hunter waiting for his prey. The Bembe believed in a creator god, Nzambi, whom they did not depict figuratively. He was the master of the life and death – unless the latter was due to the act of a sorcerer, ndoki, who could magically “eat” the life force of clan members. The ancestors had close ties with the living and received offerings through the “priest,” who made appeals to statuettes, the kitebi or bimbi, consecrated by the sorcerer. These figurines were the idealized images of the ancestors and would often wear attributes that allowed them to be identified as medicine men or hunters. The ancestor worship among the Bembe is older, though, and precedes the use of magic statues, nkisi, by the sorcerers.

 

Bembe art is profoundly religious; its purpose is to maintain contact with the dead. The art is quite original, consisting mainly of minutely carved ancestral figures that can be identified by extensive scarification on the abdomen. Such body decoration no longer exists today but survives as a style characteristic of the sculpture.

 

The Bembe statuettes are divided by size and sex. As long as the spirit lives in the statue, it watches over its descendants and punishes transgressors of customs or precepts. The statuette is dressed in a skin or fabric loincloth and a beaded necklace, and wears a beard. The palms of the male sculptures’ hands are turned toward one another or they carry objects: a rifle or knife in the right hand and a calabash in the left. Sometimes two braids frame the face, sometimes the hairdo ends in a long braid at the back of the head. The figure usually is upright with knees slightly bent, its large feet with carefully articulated toes standing on the base; the seated position occurs less frequently. Female statuettes have a pronounced, almost square, chin, a large nose and mouth, finely sculpted ears, and hair carved in relief on the forehead. The muziri is an anthropomorphic power figure, composed of plant material covered in red fabric, which contains relics of the ancestor and receives, under a small purpose-built shelter, regular libations of palm wine and food offerings.

  • Originating Region: Zamia/Congo
  • Product Type: African Sculpture
  • Material: Carved Timber
  • Tribe: Bembe
  • Type: Bembe Bimbi Statue

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