Nkondi (figurated medicine) of a standing woman

Label TextNkondi is a like a diploma given to nganga, a specialist who deals with social issues. He can be seen as a therapist who is invited-in a village, in the community circle-to deal with any issue that is a problem. Before they start discussing the matter, he has to put before him his nkondi to assure the village that he is qualified to discuss the mambo. The word mambo is what became "mumbo jumbo" in the west. Without this object, the community won't accept him as trained or qualified. Nkondi is only seen when the nganga is invited. It always comes out in the circle when there is a problem. This healer, the nganga, stands on the ground because all our medicines come from the ground. For the Kongo, trees are the first "pipes" through which all medicines come through the ground floor to human beings. For the Kongo, no matter how big or small the plant is, it draws forth from the ground a specific substance. We need to know what medicine it brings us, because by destroying some of those plants, we are preventing ourselves from receiving many powerful medicines. Here you see the nkondi standing with his hands on his hips. In the Kongo it is called pakalala. It is a position that represents something that one cannot contest. That position alone tells you that you have to be careful or a punishment is coming to you. When nganga is working on his medicine or in the process of reconciliation, his body can tell you the decision being taken. Sometimes he will just give a proverb. A proverb means a lot-it can mean "as the traditional law says, or as our ancestors have said." It can mean "legally, this is what must be followed." Proverbs can be the unwritten legal document.

Object number81.17.837

Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, African Art in Motion: Icon and Act, Jan. 20 - Mar. 17, 1974 (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, May 5 - Sept. 22, 1974). Text by Robert Farris Thompson. No cat. no., pp. 54-55, reproduced pl. 62 (as standing female figure). San Francisco, California, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, Kongo Power Figures, Nov. 15, 1989 - Jan. 21, 1990.

Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

Dimensions8 1/16 x 3 7/16 x 2 1/2 in. (20.5 x 8.7 x 6.3 cm)

MediumWood, glass beads, mica, pigment, resin, brass tack