Tribal Art

Among the peoples of the Republic of Congo, the initiation of young people ended with the revelation of the serpent god Ebongo represented in the form of a puppet head. The dances Kibe-kibe, Kebe kebe, which accompanied the ceremony reactivated the successive stages of creation. The Panther clan had a drum as an emblem. For its part, the snake's had carved heads, painted in bright colors, on sticks that the manipulator, hidden under a long robe, held his hands outstretched above his head. In homage to political figures, figures in their image were introduced. This is the representation of the 3rd President of the Republic of Congo Marien Ngouabi, born in the Kuyou region and assassinated in 1977 in Brazzaville. A former Saint-Cyrian, the figure is depicted wearing his beret with a medal on it. The groundhog was detached from its handle and attached to a base-altar that could also form a crest. An orifice was pierced at the top of the head, in order to introduce a magical charge or more simply feathers. An ancient polychromy pierces under a shiny patina. Shards and xylophageal prints attest to the age of this rare piece.
For a similar piece in a polychrome version, we invite you to check out the book. Puppets and masks authors Nidzgorski to Sepia (page 149). See https://docplayer.fr/53246086-La-decouverte-differee-des-objets-kuyu.html the study of anthropologist Anne Marie Bénézech on page 9.
African art Mazenod.