Small Yaka Fetish - Congo, Democratic Republic - Mid-20th Century

Hardwood fetish - wear - shocks - Magical preparations were introduced into the abdomen through a resin plug or contained in small bags hung around the neck or waist - These anthropomorphic statuettes played a role in divination and remedies for individual or family problems. Fourteen types of statues have been identified. Passed down the paternal or maternal line and correspond to spirits linked to specific ailments (sterility, coughs, illnesses, etc.). Their nature is ambivalent: they can harm as well as protect human beings. They are manipulated by the Ngaanga, a religious specialist who serves as an intermediary between the living and the spirits. The sacrifices he performs aim to feed a spirit "materialized" in a statuette with animal blood in order to prevent it from devouring a human being. See: P. Bourgeois, Art of the Yaka and Suku, Meudon, Chaffin and J. DENIS, Les Yaka du Kwango, Tervuren, Annales du MRAC, no. 53 The Yaka sculptor is not the blacksmith. He practices the rites reserved for his profession. He has his own bag of magic ingredients and, before undertaking a sculpture, he makes an offering to the one who taught him his art.