What is the function of the Nkisi Nkondi figure quizlet?
What is the function of the Nkisi Nkondi figure quizlet?
What is the function of the “Nkisi nkonde” figure? It pursues wrongdoers at night and punishes them when nails are driven into it.
Who made the Nkisi Nkondi figure?
(38.00 cm.) Minkisi (singular nkisi), often referred to in English as “power figures,” were made by Kongo people, such as the Yombe, residing in the area now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. These figures are, in effect, vessels for containing spiritual forces.
What is the purpose of the Nkisi Nkondi figure?
A nkisi nkondi can act as an oath taking image which is used to resolve verbal disputes or lawsuits (mambu) as well as an avenger (the term nkondi means ‘hunter’) or guardian if sorcery or any form of evil has been committed.
Where does the Nkisi Nkondi originate?
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nkisi nkondi figures come from the Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group located in the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nkisi are spirits or objects that spirits inhabit, and nkondi are an aggressive subclass of nkisi that are used to punish wrongdoing and enforce oaths.
What is a nkisi quizlet?
What does Nkisi n’kondi mean? The ritual specialist, like a priest, who is the only one who can possess the nkisi n’kondi.
When was the nkisi Nkondi made?
Nkondi with nails were made at least as early as 1864, when the British Commodore A. P. Eardley Wilmont acquired one while suppressing Solongo (Soyo) piracy at the mouth of the Congo River, a piece that was the subject of a contemporary painting and is presently in the Royal Geographical Institute in London.
How does nkisi Nkondi represent African culture?
A nkisi (plural: minkisi) is loosely translated as a “spirit” yet it is represented as a container of sacred substances which are activated by supernatural forces that can be summoned into the physical world. In other instances minkisi can be represented as small bundles, shells, and carved wooden figures.
How might an Nganga activate the nkisi figure?
Carved by a spiritual specialist (called the nganga) who activates the figures by driving nails, blades, and other metal objects into its wooden surface to make it “angry” and “rouse it into action”
When was nkisi Nkondi made?
Which structure was designed with reference to the midsummer solstice?
Thought to date from 2500 B.C., the stones of Ring of Brodgar, also known as the Temple of the Sun, align with sunset and sunrise on the solstices.
What is the significance of the mother and child figure from the Kongo from the late 19th century?
The image of a mother and child is an icon of Kongo art. It is not a simple genre theme, but a statement of the spiritual power supporting society, the need for fertility and the promise of future generations.
What are the characteristics of nkisi nkondi figures?
Nkisi nkondi figures are highly recognizable through an accumulation of pegs, blades, nails or other sharp objects inserted into its surface. Medicinal combinations called bilongo are sometimes stored in the head of the figure but frequently in the belly of the figure which is shielded by a piece of glass,…
What is the meaning of the minkisi?
Minkisi (singular nkisi), often referred to in English as “power figures,” were made by Kongo people, such as the Yombe, residing in the area now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. These figures are, in effect, vessels for containing spiritual forces.
What is a Nkisi and why is it important?
These figures are, in effect, vessels for containing spiritual forces. When brought to life, they are believed to have the power to uncover sources of affliction, to heal, to protect, and even to punish. A nkisi begins with a wooden sculpture, often anthropomorphic or zoomorphic in shape.
