African Art and Architecture

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Luba

Art of the Luba kingdom, in the southeastern part of the DRC, also emphasized the power of the king. Symbols of royal authority included carved three-pronged stands to hold bows used in hunting. The bow stands were considered too sacred for public display and were kept in carefully guarded rooms within the palace. They were decorated with a seated female figure, hands placed on her breasts. Her gesture symbolized women’s power to reproduce and was in turn a symbol of political power. Luba artists also created carved wooden stools supported by similar female figures, as well as headrests and bowls decorated with figures.

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Mangbetu

Royal patronage was also the driving force behind artistic traditions of the Mangbetu kingdom, in the northern DRC. Among the objects produced for the rulers were decorative clay cups in the shape of women’s heads, with elongated foreheads and fanlike hairstyles. The cups’ shapes made them awkward for drinking, so they doubtless had another function. Some scholars have described them as portraits of ancestors or as memorials for dead rulers, but recent research has revealed that they were made for display and tourism. Mangbetu rulers, especially Chief Okondo, who ruled the Mangbetu until 1915, gave the cups as gifts to visiting African and European dignitaries. Among the other art forms of the Mangbetu were freestanding figures, pots, mural painting, decorated bark cloth, and metalwork.

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Kongo

The Kongo people live along the lower Congo River in the western DRC and in neighboring countries. In addition to the brass crosses discussed earlier, the Kongo are noted for several distinctive types of sculpture. Wooden figures known as nkisi nkondi, or power sculptures, embody spiritual potency. They are used to harness spiritual forces to heal illness, seal agreements, protect against thieves or mishaps, or weaken an enemy. The body of the figure is simplified, while the face, hands, and feet are more elaborate. A person activates the figure’s powers by driving nails and iron blades into it, or in some cases putting items in a medicine bag attached to the figure .

Among Kongo women, dress and body decoration, including elaborate scarification patterns, were important markers of status and beauty. Although scarification is rarely practiced today, many of the patterns are recorded on small, finely carved images of nursing women, known as phemba. Other Kongo sculpture includes carved soapstone figures that marked the graves of wealthy Kongo traders from the late 19^th century to about 1920.

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Mukanda Masks

The Chokwe, Lunda, and other groups in northern Zambia, northern Angola, and southern DRC create a series of masks for use during and after mukanda rites, which initiate boys into manhood. Performances with these masks serve to educate the boys about their social responsibilities as adult males. In contrast to other African masks, which are typically made of wood, most mukanda masks are made out of bark stretched over a framework of sticks and painted with resin. One such mask, the chikunza, is tall, cone-shaped, and painted with patterns in red, white, and black. The wearer acts as the father of the boys and teaches them a special initiation dance. Only one type of mask in this tradition is carved out of wood: the mwana pwo. It represents a beautiful young girl, and a man wears it in a performance at the boys’ coming of age ceremonies.

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Eastern Africa

Eastern Africa stretches from Sudan in the north to Mozambique in the south, taking in Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and the island nation of Madagascar. This vast region encompasses a diverse range of peoples, environments, and historical experiences. They include seminomadic herders, ancient kingdoms, coastal trading ports, and even a few isolated communities of hunter-gatherers. An extremely wide range of art and architecture in the region reflects this diversity. Trade with Arabs and other groups along Africa’s east coast also introduced a strong foreign influence.