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Descrizione : wood, metal, animal horns and skin, nuts, plant fibre, base Acting as intercessors between ancestral spirits and the living, mankisi were intended to benefit the entire community. The creation of a nkisi was a public event, that brought together the community, a skilled carver and experienced nganga. Chiefs and elders commissioned the nkisi and the community was responsible for cutting the tree selected for the carving. The nganga decided on the nkisi?s features and type of wood to be used, often selected for its curative or toxic properties or for being associated with certain ancestral contexts. Once the wooden form was carved, the nganga assembled the bishimba, powerful matter made of animal, plant, and mineral substances. The addition of this sacred matter allowed the nkisi to become a conduit for spiritual forces. According to anthropologist and Songye art specialist Dunja Hersak, and based on her 1970s fieldwork in the region, the nganga was responsible for bringing the spirit forces into play with the physical world and was considered the true creator of the nkisi. Once completed, the nkisi was kept in a special enclosure positioned in a highly visible location, such as the center of the village or near the chief?s house. It was cared for by a guardian who also served as an interpreter for the nkisi whose messages were received through dreams or spirit possession. Collective consultations occurred following specific dreams or nightmares, and recurrently during celebrations related to the appearance of the new moon ? an essential symbol of new life, fertility, and wealth associated with the human life-cycle. On those occasions, the nkisi was taken out of its enclosure to be recharged by the moon?s life-force. It was sprinkled with the blood of a sacrificed chicken and anointed with palm oil, giving it its distinctive shiny patina. It was carried in procession through the village but could not be touched due to its great potency, instead, wooden poles attached under its arms with raffia strings had to be used. Mankisi were used for a community?s well-being, assuring fertility, protecting against illnesses, and generally keeping malevolent forces at bay. Their commissioning reflected a fear that disruptive forces would damage the village?s unity. Hersak states that mankisi provided the assurance of continuity and oneness in the context of drastic population decrease and disintegration of large-scale chiefships during the last three decades of the 19th century. They represented a collective identity and could survive generations. Communal mankisi were given honorific names and their existence was remembered well after they ceased to be used. AHDRC: 0040214 Continent: Africa
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