The Power Figure - Clark University

The Power Figure
Nkisi Nkondi
- The power figure is also known as the nail figure, fetish figure or
nkisi nkondi.
- The word nkisi refers to the spirit of the figure meanwhile the
word nkondi refers to the figure itself. The word nkondi comes from
the verb konda, "to hunt".
- Made by the Kongo Peoples in the DRC.
- Their carvings were thought to have had spirits inside of them that
were magical and powerful and were used as a charm or as a
curative medicine.
- The figure was created as an object to maintain the well-being of a
Kongo village.
More About The Figure
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Nkondi could capture liars, thieves, and others who undermined society.
Made of wood, glass, iron nails, pigment, and sacred material, this figure was made in
the nineteenth to twentieth century.
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The figure stands twenty-four by twelve by eight inches. The wood carving is a standing
figure covered with white pigment.
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Each of the nails driven into the figure represents an oath taken, the witnessing of an
agreement, or another occasion when the power of the figure was needed.

The figure stands in a pose of challenge and authority on a small, round base. The head
is finely carved. The figure's arms are akimbo.
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The figure's open mouth suggests the uttering of judgments.
The abdomen and eyes contain mirrors which are used to deflect danger. A mirror
covering the stomach of the figure can also mean a sealing of the container which holds
the substances believed to have strong religious powers.

The mirrors in the eyes were thought to have reflected the faces of those who stood before the
figure, showing that the spirit was keeping watch on their every move.

The Power Figure
The People of the Kongo
Environmental Shots
Forest on the banks
of the Congo river.
History of the Kongo Peoples
-The Kongo peoples are also known as the Bakongo peoples.
-They arrived in the region of the Congo River around 500 BCE.
-By the late fourteenth century there were many Kongo kingdoms, including the Kingdom of Kongo, Ngoyo,
Vungu, and Kakongo.
-The Portuguese came to the coast in 1482 and began diplomatic relations with the Kongo. This included
sending Kongo nobles to visit the royal court in Portugal.
-The Portuguese tried to convert the Kongo peoples to Christianity. Kongo leaders were quickly converted
by Christian missionaries and after much controversy King Afonso I triumphed and the Kongo became a
Christian kingdom. Because of this shift to Christianity there were many changes to the art forms in the
Congo.
-In 1568 Kango peoples were invaded by the Jagas (Yaka), and the Kongo were forced to look to the
Portuguese for help, which ultimately allowed the Portuguese to establish a colony on Kongo's territory in
1577.
-In 1665 there was a Battle on Mbwila in which a Portuguese-led army from Angola defeated the Kongo. The
Kongo peoples never regained their former power. In the ensuing years the Kongo alternately fought for
and against the Portuguese. They were eventually colonized in 1885.
-The Bakongo political party in the Democratic Republic Of The Congo (Abako) played a huge part in
national independence in 1960 (Art and Life in Africa 1).
Example of
Influenced Works
Related Works by Other Peoples
Teke
Yaka/DRC
Contemporary “Kongo Art”
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
Bob Rizzo
http://www.bobrizzo.com/id23.htm
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Burn For Love
(Silkscreen 2000)‫‏‬
Renee Stout‫‏‬
Bibliography
Jordan, Manuel. The Kongo Kingdom. Connecticut: Scholastic
Library Publishing, 1999.
“Kongo Information.” Art and Life in Africa. 3 November 1998. 15
October 2008.
<http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/kongo.html>
Scheinberg, Alfred L. Standing Male Fetish Figure; Standing Fetish
Figure, Kongo Peoples. Pennsylvania: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 1989.
The Hamill Gallery of African Art
The Museum of Fine Arts, African Art Collection.