"kabeja" Statue, Hemba People, Drc

A Janus statue depicting a man and a woman back-to-back, joined by a common trunk. The pose of both figures is identical. The shared headdress ends in a hole containing a magical charge composed, among other things, of plant matter and horns. The neck and shoulders are shared, and the hands rest on the abdomen around a prominent navel. The entire figure rests on a roughly round base. Two necklaces of glass beads adorn the neck and base of the statue. These statuettes are called "Kabeja." They represent the founding couple of each clan. They belonged to the chiefs, who possessed only one. The powers of the "Kabeja" are considered immense, and their role was considerable. They participated in all important ceremonies and could be involved in legal decisions. Made of wood with a patina of use (cracks), horns, plant matter, and glass beads.
Hemba people, Tanganyika province, Democratic Republic of Congo
H: 24 cm
Mid-20th century
Provenance: -ex Belgian private collection
- Collected in-situ by Maurice Stassin, a Belgian territorial agent who worked in the Belgian Congo as a territorial administrator.