Buti Figure – Wood – Teke – DR Congo

The Teke (about 800,000 people) belong to the Bantu peoples. They live predominantly on the savannah-covered high plateau in the border region of the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Gabon. Their cosmology knows beside the real world an invisible parallel universe over which the creator Nziam rules. They assume that their souls are resurrected there. The veneration of the ancestors and the nature spirits, who were to be favorably tuned by prayers and sacrifices, played a central role in the everyday life of the Teke.

Personal protective figures, such as the one offered here, are used as interfaces between this world’s and supernatural forces to promote the good and avert the negative.

Provenance: former private collection from the Netherlands