Kusu fetish, DRC - Lot 149

Kusu fetish, DRC Personal protection figures such as our example, used by the Hemba and Kusu, were inspired by Songye fetishes. The magic charge, composed of ingredients of various origins, was inserted at the top of the head where an orifice remains. Irregular satin-finish patina, erosions and cracks at the base. 27 x 10 cm The Kusu, who live on the left bank of the Lualaba, have borrowed artistic traditions from the Luba and Hemba, and have a caste system similar to that of the Luba. The Hemba settled in southeastern Zaire, on the right bank of the Lualaba. Once under Luba domination, these farmers and hunters practiced ancestor worship using effigies long attributed to the Luba. Singiti statues were preserved by the fumu mwalo and honored in ceremonies during which sacrifices were offered to them. Parallel to the authority of hereditary chiefs, secret societies - male, such as the bukazanzi, and female, the bukibilo - played an important role within the clan.