Songye Power Figure (Nkisi)

Songye people, early to mid-20th century, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa

Magnificent and imposing standing Songye power figure (nkisi), the collaborative creation of a master sculptor and a trained ritual specialist. Expertly carved from a single piece of dense brown wood, the surface is deeply dyed and enriched with sacred materials (bishimba) composed of seeds, horns, fiber, and hide—substances believed to activate and house spiritual power.

The head is sculpted in the classic Songye style. The face is beautifully rendered with large coffee-bean shaped eyes beneath arched brows, a small flat nose, and a rectangular projecting mouth above an angular chin. Recessed ears frame the sturdy cylindrical neck, which is adorned with a dramatic necklace of large seed pods. The broad shoulders and bent arms emphasize the hands resting firmly against the forward-projecting abdomen, its prominent navel symbolizing vitality, fertility, and continuity.

Around the hips and chest is a band of antelope hide and animal skin, the remnants of its original fur still faintly visible. The short, slightly bent legs stand powerfully upon a shallow circular plinth carved from the same block of wood. Crowning the figure is a small Dik-Dik horn (Madoqua sp.), inserted upside down at the top of the head—a potent emblem associated with ancestral wisdom and ritual authority.

The Songye inhabit a vast region between the Sankuru and Lubilash rivers in the west and the Lualaba River in the east, extending across Kasaï-Oriental, Katanga, and the Kivu Provinces. Numbering around 150,000 people, they are organized into thirty-five subgroups governed by a paramount chief (Yakitenge) supported by elders (bakulu), noble lineages (bilolo), and various secret societies. Their traditions are closely linked to those of the Luba (Baluba), with whom they share the legendary ancestor Kongolo.

Most Songye figural sculpture functions as nkisi (pl. minkisi or mankishi)—spiritual entities connected to ancestors whose force can influence the living world. Each community traditionally maintains a central nkisi as well as numerous personal figures. Housed in a dedicated shrine (shibo ya bwanga), the communal nkisi addresses major concerns such as illness, crop failure, sorcery, witchcraft, or conflicts. Every nkisi is assigned a guardian (nkunja or kunca), who interprets visions, dreams, and spirit communications, and who mediates between the living and ancestral forces.

The power of the nkisi derives from its bishimba, a charged mixture created by the spiritual healer (nganga). These substances—hidden within the abdominal cavity, tied to the figure, or placed in a horn atop the head—are composed of elements chosen for their symbolic and metaphysical potency. Ingredients may include hawk feathers (kabemba), lion claws (ntembve), snake scales (nsanci), fragments associated with individuals who met unusual deaths, or body materials from twins, epileptics, or albinos (nsaka). Others carry symbolic resonance, such as earth from an elephant’s footprint or wood from a tree struck by lightning (tufi twa mpeshi).

A profoundly expressive and fully empowered example of Songye spiritual sculpture, rich in ritual detail and remarkable in both its aesthetic and ethnographic significance—a superb collector’s piece.

Excellent condition. Age-related heavy wear and signs of significant ceremonial use. Parallel split in wood running across the figure. Small chip. Exceptionally fine glossy black patina. Traces of libations and sacrificial offerings. Size approx. 27,0cm x 9,0cm x 8,2cm (excluding the modern base).

Provenance: Swedish private collection

For a similar examples see:

Power Figure (nkisi), New Orleans Museum of Art, Accession Number: 97.159 (https://noma.org/collection/power-figure-nkisi-2/)

Male Power Figure (nkishi), Birmingham Museum of Art , Accession Number: 1989.64 (https://www.artsbma.org/collection/male-power-figure-nkishi/)

References and further reading:

Reviewing Power, Process, and Statement: The Case of Songye Figures, Dunja Hersak, African Arts, Vol.43, No.2, pp.38-51, Published UCLA, Summer 2010.

On the Consept of Prototype in Songye Masquerades, Dunja Hersak, African Arts, Vol.45, No.2, pp.12-23, Published UCLA, Summer 2012.

Community Poer Figure: Male (Nkisi), Yaëlle Biro, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018.

Songye, Art & Life in Africa, University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art.