Kongo Nkisi Nkondi Power Fetish Figure Congo

The Kongo Nkisi Nkondi Power Fetish Figure from Congo is a striking, handcrafted spiritual object used in rituals to invoke protection, healing, and justice in traditional African culture.

Nkisi figures, created by the Bakongo people in West Africa, serve diverse functions and hold various meanings. These figurative sculptures include nkisi or nkondi, known as power figures, believed to possess spiritual powers for healing, protection, and justice. Ancestral figures establish a connection between the living and the deceased, placed on altars for offerings and guidance. Nkisi figures also serve as shrine objects in spiritual practices, acting as intermediaries between the physical and spiritual realms. 

The term nkisi refers to spirit-invested objects activated with medicinal and magical substances known as bilongo. In this male figure, the bilongo are enclosed in the cap on the head and within the resin packet sealed with a mirror on the abdomen. When a figure is called nkondi, it refers to its role as a hunter of wrongdoers, seeking out and punishing them. Nails or blades were driven into the figure to activate the spirit within each time it was consulted.