Figure (nazeze-type of yanda)

Anthropomorphic figures like this one are known as yandas after the protective spirits that the Zande peoples believe guard their communities. (16) Yanda figures belonged to the highest-ranking members of the Mani society, a secret association open to both men and women. Membership in Mani ensured one's general well-being, including fertility, successful hunting and fishing, protection against disease and sorcery, and the resolution of family or legal problems. According to some scholars, the Mani association was organized initially to counteract the authority of the royal elite lead by the Vurungura clan and later the Belgian colonial government.(17)

Yanda figures are usually referred to as female because of their association with fertility even though their sex is most often undefined. Made of wood, clay, or soft stone, nazeze-type yandas are carved in an abstract style with a minimum of physiognomic details. The wood used for the sculpture was chosen for its medicinal properties.(18) Magical substances could also be placed in the yanda's recessed navel, which was covered.

Concealed in special containers, yandas were activated during a ritual in which they were anointed with libele, a plant mixture. Petitioners continued to anoint the yandas as they disclosed their problems to the figures, which were then returned to their receptacles. After a problem was resolved, the petitioner offered the yanda gifts of beads, metal rings, and coins, similar to the adornments on the Dallas figure. Over time the surface of the figure became so thick with encrustation that the carving beneath was obscured. It could be said that the sculptures were more the product of ritual process than aesthetic choice made by the sculptor.

The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art, cat. 50, pp. 158-159.

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NOTES:

16. Cornet, Joseph. Art of Africa: Treasures from the Congo. Trans. Barbara Thompson. London: Phaidon, 1971. pp. 305-308.

Mack, in Verswijver, Gustaaf, Els De Palmenaer, Viviane Baeke, and Anne-Marie Bouttiaux-NDiaye, eds. Masterpieces from Central Africa. Munich: Prestel; and Tervuren, Belgium: Royal Museum for Central Africa, 1996. pp. 280, 387, cat. no. 240.

Blier, Suzanne Preston. The Royal Arts of Africa: The Majesty of Form. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1995. p. 37.

17. Evans-Prichard, E. E. Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1937. p. 513.

18. Ghent, Gregory. African Alchemy: Art for Healing in African Societies. Moraga, California: Saint Mary’s College of California, Hearst Art Gallery, 1994. pp. 26 and 50, cat. no. 67.