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Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)

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Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)

Bakongo

HISTORY

Originating from the Kongo in the 19th century, Nkisi figures, also know as “Power Figures”, are objects that the spirits of the dead inhabit. Like the relics of saints in Catholicism, Nkisi figures act as a gateway between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Serving a variety of functions, Nkisi figures can be used for bodily healing, protection, destruction of a person or spirit, oath-taking, argument settlement, and identification of criminals among other things. 

The Kundu Gland, typically located on the figure’s stomach, is a small cavity in Nkisi figures where medicine and magical material is sealed in with glass. This glass then acts as “eyes” into the world of the living for the spirit inhabiting the Nkisi. The Kundu Gland is where the figure draws power and spiritual energy. 

To use a Nkisi figure, a nail is pounded into it, thereby activating its powers and awakening its spirit. Each nail represents the sealing of an oath or action tied to the figure. It has been proposed that the religious significance of nails and penetration were derived from contact with Christian Portuguese Missionaries, who would have familiarized Kongo peoples with Christ and Saint Sebastian.

While Nkisi figures were often prescribed by doctors to individuals, Nkisi figures could also be communally owned by families or whole communities.

This specific figure belongs to a subset of Nkisi figures called Nkondi. Nkondi figures were used to protect communities or individuals from witchcraft and other evil powers.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

When considering the highly contrasting, unresponsive face of the Nkisi Figure under the conditions of many nails puncturing a considerable portion of the body, a sense of dissociation effectively fragments the head from the body. This act of fragmentation does not objectify, idealize, or claim ownership to the figure in any sense, as Mulvey’s notion of fragmentation in Western art cinema asserts, but instead seems to reinforce the message of overarching healing and restoration that the figure’s powers provide (1988). With the withered body punctured so as to awaken the spirit, the bright order and serenity of the face stand out from the body, becoming the primary focal point of the work. This fragmentation emphasizes, and in doing so creates an enhanced narrative quality for the work. 

BIOLOGY

The purpose of the nails driven into this figure is not to punish or cause pain, but to activate the dead spirit that inhabits the figure. The white color of the face could easily represent the fact that the spirit is dead. The calm, plain, almost bored-looking expression on the figure all help to show that the Nkisi lacks the perception of pain. Biologically, a lack of pain could be caused by many factors. The nociceptors could be low-functioning because natural opioids are inhibiting calcium influx to the presynaptic terminal or they could be hyperpolarizing neurons by opening potassium channels. Another way pain insensitivity could occur would be through gene mutations that lower the functionality of sodium channels, since non-functional sodium channels would inhibit the pain signal from traveling through the body and from being perceived. Diminished pain sensation can also be caused by natural baroreceptor stimulation. The lack of pain in the Nkisi could be caused by the closing of the gate in the spinal cord to suppress pain sensation as well. The most likely cause of this closing is the emotional distraction of feeling reassured that the pain is not harmful, but helpful in activating the spirit.  

Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)