In Vili culture, nkisi are not properly objects, but embodied spirits. Objects called by this name are believed to be endowed with “medicine”, or the power to attract and host a spirit force.
Such objects can be shaped like an anthropomorphic figure, a bundle, or, as in this case, a basket of plant fibers containing an animal skull (in this case that of a monkey). It is not the container’s material form, but its active force that allows it to induce the spirit to either heal or hurt.
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