Tribe of the Week: The Bakongo People

November 9, 2017 By

New tribe page up on our site on the Bakongo people! Read on below for some interesting info from the page, all about their spirit figures.

The Bakongo are a very spiritually driven tribe. They believe in what are called Nkisi, or spirits, that they can communicate with to gain protection from evil. Nkisi can live in an object, if the object has been activated with herbs or sacred elements. Specifically, the Bakongo create figures referred to as Nkisi Nkondi, which are hunter figures often pierced with nails to activate the spirit to eradicate evil or punish any wrong-doers. According to the Bakongo, hunters are the most potent and powerful Nkisi. Nkisi Nkondi are also used in divination practices to heal the sick or to track down witches and sorcerers.

Above are some of the Nkisi figures we have in our collection. It’s incredible to see how many nails were pounded into these figures and to imagine the strong feelings that provoked a Bakongo person to nail them in!

Check out more of our Bakongo pieces here. And our Bakongo Tribe Pinterest board.

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