Amazing Nkisi Nkondi Nail fetish
Dimension
27"H x 9"W x 12"D
Mid 20th Century
Age Cracks
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Fetishes were protective figures used by individuals, families, or whole communities to destroy or weaken
evil spirits, prevent or cure illnesses, repel bad deeds, solemnize contracts or oath-taking, and decide
arguments. A diviner or holy person would activate the statue, using magical substances. Fetishes gained
power and were effective because people believed in them.
The nkondi are the most powerful of the nkisi. They were used to identify and hunt down unknown
wrongdoers such as thieves, and people who were believed to cause sickness or death by occult means.
They were also used to punish people who swore false oaths and villages which broke treaties. To inspire
the nkondi to action, it was both invoked and provoked. Invocations, in bloodthirsty language, encouraged
it to punish the guilty party. It would also be provoked by having gunpowder exploded in front of it, and
having nails hammered into it. They were also used to literally "hammer out agreements"...with clear
implications as to what would happen to people who broke the agreements.
The diviner, or fetishist, operates in principle for the good of all. His help is sought in times of need, for he is seen as the mediator between members of
the tribe and all the powers of darkness. For this reason he also acts as healer.
The various attempts to influence the fearsome powers of the supernatural through the mediation of statues or fetishes have acquired particular
intensity in the regions round the mouth of the River Congo, home of the Kongo, Yombe and Vili tribes, and this is also the case in the east of Zaire,
among the Songye.
Magical objects were for many years little known in Europe, as Christian missionaries working in Africa tracked them down and had them burnt. Certain
statues which were brought back to Europe by religious men, allegedly for documentation, were kept in secret and could not be studied. They were
much feared for they seemed, even to European eyes, to have real power, a belief almost universally accepted in 17th-century Europe. Olfert Dapper
was the first to look dispassionately at these "fetish" objects and to dare to describe them.
Recent work has led to a better understanding. They are wooden carvings, either anthropomorphic or zoomorphic, which are covered with a variety of
objects such as nails or metal blades. The cavities in their back or stomach contain "medicines" - grains, hairs, teeth or fingernails - which are held
together with various binding materials. Pieces of fabric, feathers or lumps of clay are sometimes present. Finally, bits of mirror, shiny metal or shells
are used to close the cavities or to mark the eyes
The fetishist was primarily a witness, and an important one in view of his supposed relationship with the world of the supernatural. Woe to anyone who
failed to keep his promise! The Nkonde, as guardian of collective memory, would inflict sudden sickness on any defaulter, or even bring about his death,
but he protected the innocent. The Nkonde's face is always aggressive and deliberately terrifying; the mouth is always open, as if shouting a warning to
the person making a vow.
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