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Mpungu figure. Nkanu. Lower Zaïre region. Wood, fibre, skin, cowries, padlocks, herbs, pigments, cola nuts. © Africa-Museum, Tervuren

WHAT IS IT? This is a ritual figure called a mpungu, which is used by a ritual specialist or nkanu to ward off evil forces. It is the most recently collected object from the Tervuren Museum's collections — notice the modern padlocks and other materials (cloth, iron, mirrors) that come from the industrial world. WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? The figure comes from the frontier region between Lower Zaïre and Bandundu, near Angola. The modern materials originated in Europe. Africans in this area made contact with Portuguese navigators at the mouth of the Zaïre River as early as the fifteenth century. WHAT MESSAGE DOES IT CONVEY? The figure speaks out for its owner, saying "Divert my enemies," or "Protect me from sorcerers." HOW IS IT USED? This type of figure would protect its owner from spells, curses or other maledictions. The padlocks and knots are symbols, barring all routes to the owner and diverting or confusing the enemy.

Nkondi statue. Kongo (Yombe). Lower Zaïre region. Wood, metal, pigments, mirror, pig's teeth, beads, cowrie, fibre. © Africa-Museum, Tervuren

HOW IS THIS FIGURE DIFFERENT FROM A NKISI NKONDI? A nkisi nkondi is a figure which has the power to retaliate against wrongdoers and sorcerers. The figure's power comes from a magical substance that is usually kept in a small container at its stomach or feet. Some nkisi nkondi figures have a raised arm, which would originally have held a dagger or spear with which to attack the enemy (along with the magic substances, these weapons have disappeared from the figures exhibited). In contrast to the Nkanu mpungu figure, the nkisi nkondi's message is a cry for revenge. HOW DO POWER FIGURES WORK? A sculptor makes a wooden anthropomorphic statue (one shaped like a human body). In the case of a nkisi nkondi, the object is transformed and empowered through a ritual in which a nganga or ritual specialist attaches a receptacle containing magic substances to the figure. The victim seeking retaliation licks a nail and the nganga inserts it in the figure. As he hammers nails and blades into the body of the nkondi, shouting insults at it, the nganga wakes the spirit inside, making it angry and encouraging it to punish the wrongdoer. WHAT ROLE DO THE MATERIALS USED SERVE? A specific motive prompts each piercing of the power figure; not all requests are for evil (power can be used for a positive change), although the use of metal nails usually signifies a wish for violence. Other materials are also used to empower a figure, for example, claws, hair and horns imbue the figure with the characteristics of the animals they symbolize.

MYSTERY Which of the following hypotheses on the origin of power figures do you believe to be true? 1. It's possible that the Kongo would have driven wooden pegs into the figures before they began using nails brought from European countries. True   False 2. It's possible that the practice of piercing a figure with nails was borrowed from the Christian representation of Christ's crucifixion or St. Sebastian's attack by arrows. True   False 3. It's possible that African peoples followed the Portuguese practice of driving needles into dolls. True   False