The World of Songye

Arts & Photography

Petridis, Constantine

Neyt, François

Dumouchelle, Kevin

Buchhart, Dieter

De Grunne, Bernard

Kloman, Susan

Himmelheber, Hans

Entwistle, Lance

Maggiar, Alexis

Cuisin, Bernard

Timmermans, Karel

Teodorescu, Victor

Schweizer, Henrich

Anne Vanderstraete-Van, Cutsem

History & Criticism

Mercatorfonds

A study of the traditional wooden sculptures of the human figure created by the Songye people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo features photographs of nearly one thousand works and background information on their cultural meaning.

Songye: The Formidable Statuary of Central Africa

Prestel Pub

The seventy-plus carved objects from the Democratic Republic of the Congo presented in this book have something remarkable in common: They are permeated with the powers of magic and sorcery and are believed to be inhabited by the spirits of nature and the ghosts of ancestors. Selected with great care by Patric Didier Claes, a Belgian expert in African art, the works are from the Kingdom of Luba, at the source of the Congo, and the Kingdoms of Kongo and Teke. Each sculpture is identified, indexed, meticulously described, placed in context, and pinpointed as an example of the particular carving style of a specific workshop. Text in English and French.

African Fetishes and Ancestral Objects (French and English Edition)

5Continents

Kifwebe: Un siècle de masques Songye et Luba

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Roberts, Allen F.

Davy, Woods

Brown, H. Kellim

Dumouchelle, Kevin D.

Antiques & Collectibles

CINQ CONTINENTS

Offers a fresh perspective on the Songye and Luba through the study of the Woods Davy Collection Kifwebe masks are ceremonial objects used by the Songye and Luba societies (Democratic Republic of Congo), where they are worn with costumes consisting of a long robe and a long beard made of plant fibres. As in other central African cultures, the same mask can be used in either magical and religious or festive ceremonies. In order to understand Kifwebe masks, it is essential to consider them within the cosmogony of the python rainbow, metalworking in the forge, and other plant and animal signs. Among the Songye, benevolent female masks reveal what is hidden and balance white and red energy associated with two subsequent initiations, the bukishi. Aggressive male masks were originally involved in social control and had a kind of policing role, carried out in accordance with the instructions of village elders. These two male and female forces acted in a balanced way to reinforce harmony within the village. Among the Luba, the masked figures are also benevolent and appear at the new moon, their role being to enhance fertility. Although the male and female masks fulfil functions that do not wholly overlap, they do have features in common: a frontal crest, round and excessively protruding eyes, flaring nostrils, a cube-shaped mouth and lips, stripes, and colors. Art historians and anthropologists have taken increasing interest in Kifwebe masks in recent years.

Kifwebe: A Century of Songye and Luba Masks

5 Continents Editions Srl

The Tshokwe

Turconi, Angelo

Kaputu, Felix U.

Stichting Kunstboak

Trésors de Côte d'Ivoire. Aux sources des traditions artistiques (French Edition)

MERCATOR

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Books by Neyt, François