Male Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)
Origin: Democratic Republic of Congo
Tribe: Kongo
Date:



The upraised arm (which originally held a knife of some type) identifies this figure as a hunter (nkondi), which means that the purpose of this figure was to "hunt down" those who had done wrong or cast spells against the owner of the figure. The very European style hat on this figure's head would have contained special medicines and indicates that the piece was created during the time of European colonialization. The red and white streaks under the eyes represent the "tears" that come with death.

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