The Collection: a regional and
typological approach
Central Africa
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detailed map of Central Africa in the 1800s.
In their splendid exhibition catalogue, Memory: Luba Art and the
Making of History, based on extensive field studies, Mary Nooter
Roberts and Allen F. Roberts have described a form of divination known as
kashekesheke which employs the small sculpted figures known as
kakishi (1996:178-185). The thousands of these little sculptures
in public and private collections attest to their widespread use among
the Luba and neighboring peoples. Kashekesheke is essentially a
ritual means for communicating with the ancestors (bafu, literally
"the dead") whose presence is believed to effect the welfare of the
living. Hence, kashekesheke is a personal rite in which a troubled
individual engages with a diviner, mbuki, whose techniques do not
require spirit possession, to learn through the ritual the causes of
his/her stress or misfortune. Although the diviner may be male or
female, the kakishi are always female, since, for the Luba, "women
are strong vessels of spiritual presence" (1997:182).
Figure 3:
h 5 3/4" |
In preparing for the ritual, the kakishi is rubbed with
aromatic leaves, invoking the diviner's consulting spirit. The
diviner will be informed of the client's concerns. Seated on a
mat, they will each grasp the kakishi with their first two
fingers. "Thus the divining instrument creates a bridge between
diviner and client, linking the diviner's insight to the client's
experience" (1996:182). The kakishi, as all ritual artifacts, is
an extension of the diviner's spiritual power. Questions
concerning the cause of the client's problems will be addressed
to the ancestors "who act as agents of memory" (1996: 183). The
kakishi remains motionless until the correct question has been
asked. Then, if the circling motion is counterclockwise, which
produces the sound "sheke-sheke," a positive response is
indicated, creating, according to the Roberts, an enclosure, "a
space of representation," where the human and spirit worlds meet.
Negation is indicated by the object's movement of tipping forward
and backward. The process continues until diviner and client are
prepared to discuss the client's problems in light of the
responses conveyed through the motions of the kakishi.
|
Figure 4:
h
5" |
The sculptures are usually three to six inches, often
depicting elaborate coiffures. In the figure above, beads have been added
by the diviner. As the Roberts observe, beads are not simply
decorative. They can signify "place" of personage, title, rank,
or role. They are, therefore, "cognitive" cues to the Luba
viewer, "mnemonic devices," for remembering and discernment
(Roberts and Roberts 1996:90). Marc Felix noted to Maurer that
this kakishi is a beautiful example of the Luba Shankadi, Mwanza
sub-style (5 January 1987). In contrast, fig.
4 is distinctive
with its Janus head, gracefully elongated neck, and the extension
of the shoulders. The composition in its totality is superbly
balanced, consisting of a variety of geometric forms: the
circular base, U-shaped body, horizontal thrust of the shoulders,
long vertical line of the neck, softly triangular head, and the
delineation of the face in an almost minimalist fashion. The
only suggestion of surface ornamentation is the cross mark that
appears on the chest. It is the creation of a skilled carver
gifted with artistic imagination.
Figure 5:
H 5
1/2"
|
The Songye peoples to the north of the Luba share a common
linguistic heritage, as well as cultural and historical
connections as is evident in the use of friction divination
devices known as katatora. Figs. 2
and 5
provide excellent
examples of Songye artistry. Fig. 2, collected by General
Campion in 1924 (Felix, 12 November 1987) is the more typical of
Songye Kalebwa style. The protruding mouth, triangular nose, and
coffee bean eyes are similar to many highly expressionistic
Songye mask forms (kifwebe). The large oval body of fig. 5 is in
sharp contrast to the rectangular body of fig.
8 and so too the
minimal and beautiful depiction of the face. Nonetheless, the
face is clearly recognizable as Songye.
One can see the influence of Songye style in another
katatora that comes from the Nsapo-sapo people who were part of
the Songye Beneki clan to the west (fig. 6). According to
Francois Neyt, O.S.B., katatora were usually carved from "a very
hard wood (the kibekwasa), whose emetic sap brings to mind the
divinatory instrument's purpose: `to make the truth be told'"
(1981:264). Carvings from this group are exceedingly rare; and
what is unusual about this katatora is the addition of thin arms,
bent at the side of the torso, ending with small hands with
finely incised fingers, and the suggestion of breasts. According
to Jean Willy Mestach, the coiffure is characteristic of the
Kalonji (Luba-Kasai), and he gives its presumed region as Kananga
(1985:135)
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 Figure 6: h 6
3/4"
|
Another type of friction oracle is found among a cluster of
peoples in central Zaire to the west of the Luba and Songye: the
Kuba, Wongo, and Lele. The Kuba are a federation of
approximately eighteen peoples to whom their neighbors, the
Luluwa and Luba gave the name "Kuba." Their history dates to
about the sixteenth century (Vansina 1960; 1963). By the mid-nineteenth century the Kuba had established a kingdom of regional
importance in the area limited by the rivers Sankuru, Kasai, and
Luluwa. The Wongo and Lele originally came from "the north" with
the Kuba, subsequently settling and resettling in small villages
along and between the Loange and Kasai Rivers often having to
relocate in the area due to the intrusions of the Pende and later
the Tchokwe peoples. It is, therefore, to be expected that there
are similarities in artistry and object types among the peoples
of the lower Kasai.
Figure 7: L 11"
 Figure 8: L 9 1/2" 
|
The Maurer Collection includes a number of divination
artifacts known as itombwa. Fig. 7 is an example of a Kuba
itombwa shaped in the image of a warthog with a long upturned
nose. It was brought to Belgium by General Campion in 1902
(Felix, 12 November 1985). The finally incised surface of the
body and legs is typical of Kuba artistry with its skill in
juxtaposing intricate geometric patterns on the surface of carved
objects such as cups and boxes. One finds this same rich
patterning in the bead and cowrie shell masks created for Kuba
kings. The wooden "rubber" is bound to the object base with
raffia fibre. The friction, that is, the smooth movement or
sticking of the rubber, is created by the addition of specially
prepared root juices and oil as it is used by the diviner.
Traces of red camwood powder may still be seen, typical of the
finishing touch on almost all Kuba carvings. As we noted above
with reference to the Luba kakishi and Songye katatora, the
rubbing oracle is an extension of the diviner's spiritual power.
It may be used only by one capable of discerning the meaning of
the movement of the rubber and the communication of spiritual
power in the rite.
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The influence of the Kuba on Wongo style and object type is
nicely illustrated in fig. 8, another itombwa identical in
subject and similar in surface ornamentation. While well carved,
it does not have the power of the Kuba piece. The head and body
lack a continuity of form and the animal stands on rather stiff
legs. Another Wongo itombwa,
fig. 9, is a far more successful
carving. It appears to image a dog or crocodile? The suggestion
of a dog's collar may be noted in the series of designs about the
neck. Dogs, as warthogs, were associated with the ability to
scent or root out the quarry, disclose the hunted, as divination
seeks to identify the agent or cause of misfortune, controversy,
and suffering. The graceful line of the carving from head to
tail is enhanced by the finely incised lines along the body to
the tip of the tail, and others which curve down the legs, giving
the piece "momentum, grace and energy" (Felix, 18 February 1988).
The rubbing disc is attached by fibre raffia running through a
hole in the disc, the rubbing having created a rich patina on the
hard wood from which the object was carved. Another itombwa by a
Lele carver is illustrated in
fig. 10. While
similar in subject
to the Wongo dog, there is a disjunction between the body and the
head and tail, although the head is rather well conceived.
Another more interesting itombwa by a Lele carver is
illustrated in fig. 11. It combines anthropomorphic and
zoomorphic elements--a human head joined to the body and tail of
a quadruped. As in the Kuba and Wongo carvings, the surface
ornamentation consists of a variety of geometric patterns further
distinguishing body and legs. The human face is conceived as a
flat surface on which closely set almond shaped eyes, a long
triangular nose, and narrow mouth are imposed. Scarfication
marks run down the sides of the head from eyes to the U-shaped
ears. A similar itombwa (fig. 12) by a carver of the Ding
people, who live to the south of the Wongo and Lele but within
the Kasai region, illustrates the prevalence of an object type of
ritual artifact but also clear stylistic differences in the
depiction of the human head and face. Facial features are more
carefully modeled. The rubbing stub is made of raffia rather
than wood. All of these itombwa probably date in the period of
the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when contact with
European colonial administrators, soldiers, entrepreneurs, and
missionaries was at its height.
Figure 12: L 13"
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