Ritual container in the form of a standing male figure

The Chokwe believed their chief or "owner of the land" (mwanangana) was God's representative on earth, the intermediary between the world of humans and the world of ancestral and nature spirits. The chief ultimately ensured his people's well-being by keeping the balance between these realms. In order to do so, he required the spiritual support of his ancestors, which he activated with special, potent medicines.

This standing male figure has a hollow torso-revealed by removing its head-and once held the medicine used by an ancestral chief to activate supernatural powers. The right hand of this figure was accidentally broken and replaced by a blade, suggesting the regenerative abilities of the chief and his ancestors.(11)

The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art, cat. 46, pp. 150-151.

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NOTES:

11. Jordan, Manuel, ed. Chokwe! Art and Initiation among Chokwe and Related Peoples. Munich, London, and New York: Prestel, 1998. p. 31, cat. no. 2.