Luluwa Bwa cibola statuette, DRC ex Zaire - Lot 103

Luluwa Bwa cibola statuette, DRC ex Zaire The various types of African Luluwa, Lulua or Béna Lulua statues, with their multiple scarifications, glorify local chiefs, maternity, fertility and the female figure. This African maternity is associated with the Buanga bua cibola cult, and, according to the Lulua, is supposed to protect children and pregnant women. The figure features a prominent abdomen, the center of the body and "the object of all solicitudes" ( La puissance du sacré , M . Faïk-Nzuji Gray-brown patina. 31 x 9 cm The Lulua, or Béna Lulua, people settled in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, having migrated from West Africa. Their social structure, based on castes, is similar to that of the Luba. They produced few masks, but mainly statues of ancestors representing the ideal warrior, mulalenga wa nkashaama , as well as the chief of the Leopard society and mbulenga statuettes linked to nature spirits.