Standing Male (Ancestor?) Figure

This standing male figure attributed to the Kusu peoples in Central Africa relates in its form to the serene and dignified carvings made by the neighboring Hemba peoples to honor important departed ancestors. Called singiti by the Hemba, such ancestral figures were placed in special shrine houses and provided regularly with offerings and prayers. They served as material channels between the living and the dead. Consequently, even the figure’s pose has symbolic meaning: the hands placed on either side of the prominent belly indicate steadfast watch over his family’s clan.

Such ancestral figures are in essence idealized portraits, whose sanctioned features include an ovoid head, delicate crescent-shaped eyebrows and half-closed eyes, pursed lips, and a finely grooved beard. The double, pointed hairstyle of this carving differs from the large, cruciform-shaped coiffures favored by the Hemba, suggesting regional styles to this religious imagery.