Gabon (Mekambo Region)
Mahongwe

Iron – brass -wood – cowrie shells – fabric
Early-Mid 20th century
Height: 29 in (73.5 cm)
Idiophone – Struck Directly  – Bell

The Mahongwe are linked to the Kota people, who also live in the region of Gabon. In particular, they share their language and the cult practice known as “Bwete.” When the village chief died, he was buried in the forest, however, later he was often exhumed for bones, which would be placed with other “magical” substances in a bark box or basket, called “Bwete.” Attached to the “Bwete” were reliquary figures called “mbulu-nulu” that served as protectors of the contents of the “Bwete.” The “Bwete” was called on in times of crisis in the village.

The Mahongwe developed their own style often identified as “naja,” an European term of identification. The brass sheet and narrow strips that covered the wooden sculpture were known to the Mahongwe as “osseyba.’” Generally the “Bwete” would consist of two figures, one larger than the other. The larger represented the founder of the lineage and the smaller a descendent of the lineage. Other times, they were “janus” faced (that is having faces on both sides of the figure) and would represent the two ancestors on one figure. The formal sculptural presentation of the figures were often enhanced by brass sheets worked in a repousse technique (working on the reverse of the metal to form a raised design) and by brass metal strips worked in design across the face of the sculpture, as shown in this Mahongwe ritual bell.

According to Louis Perrois in ‘African Faces, African Figures – The Arman Collection’: “All such objects disappeared from the villages between 1940 and 1960. Confiscated by missionaries or destroyed by prophets of new syncretic religions (the “Mademoiselle” cult, for example), others were sometimes merely hidden in ancient cemeteries, deep in the forest, where, accidentally, some are still being recovered.”