Mbulu-ngulu, which translates to “image of the spirit of the dead,” were created by Kota-language speaking artists in what is today eastern Gabon. Carved wooden figures covered with sheets of various metals such as this one were placed on top of reliquary baskets containing ancestral relics such as bones or skulls to protect the contents of the basket from malevolent forces. Attributed to an unidentified artist in the Obamba subgroup of the Kota tribe, this early 20th century reliquary guardian figure exhibits many of the features associated with its categorized artistic style of Kota reliquaries as outlined by anthropologist Louis Perrois. The oval concave/convex face, crescent headpiece, overhanging forehead and hanging ear “droplets” are of the classical Kota-Obamba style found in the Franceville region of eastern Gabon.
Research Attribution: Nicholas Castellano, Villanova University, with supervision from Dr. Hilary Whitham Sánchez
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