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Bakota,"Mbulu ngulu" Reliquary Figure
Tribe: Bakota (Kota)
Region: Ogowe river basin, Gabon
Size: 25"
Weight: 2lbs 14oz
Material: wood, brass
The name Kota describes many cultures in the Ogowe river basin. Among others,
tribes of the Mahongwe, Tsogho and Fang live there. According to their
customs the Kota people used to leave their dead unburied, far from the
village, in the forest. However, under the influence of their neighbours they began
to bury them. Bones and the skulls of chiefs (after they were exhumed) were
placed in special boxes ( the "Byeri" boxes used by the Byeri secret
society among the Fang people) or baskets ( the "Bwiti"
or "Bwete" baskets used by the Bwiti secret society
in the Tshogo tribe). Reliquary figures were placed inside or on top of those boxes or baskets with ancestral
bones and kept in special huts on the out-skirts of the village to ward off
evil spirits. However, a close contact between the living and the spirit
world was always the main aim of funeral rites and ancestor worship, as,
according to the beliefs of equatorial African tribes, ..."life was only
a passing and incomplete feature of a cosmic whole"...(Laura Meyer, Black
Africa - Masks, Sculpture, Jewelry, 1992).
One of the most abstract reliquary objects is this "Mbulu ngulu"
(meaning "the image of the dead") reliquary guardian. It has
a flat wooden face, set on a disproportionately long neck, surrounded by
the oval crescent representing hair. This part of the figure could also
be considered as a halo representing the spirit, which now occupies the
figure. The mouth has been eliminated, showing how difficult it is to communicate
with the spirits and, perharps, that there is no message from the other world.
The nose, which is reduced almost to a blade and round eyes are the only features
of this unusual face. It is not clear whether the bottom part represents
arms or legs, however a body form around the diamond shape is evident.
These very rare almost abstract, geometrical figures found only in Gabone are
made of wood and ornamented with bronze (which is a symbol of daylight)
plates and strips. Regularly rubbed with sand, they gleamed (for
better psychological impact) in the dark during nocturnal ceremonies. The
"Mbulu ngulu " reliquary figures are among the world's greatest
African art treasures and some items reach very high prices
(US$25 000-35 000)at the international auctions.
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