Pende Gikhoko charm
€500.00
Mukanda Items
In African tribal art, Pende ikhoko (sing. gikhoko) pendants or charms such as this, originating in southern Bandundu, almost all originating in the so-called katundu-style region, are miniature replicas of ivory or bone, more rarely in wood, some traditional mbuya masks.
The latter are African masks adorned with raffia that used to dance on various ritual or festive occasions and especially during the closing of the mukanda circumcision rite.
The circumcision rites or mukanda as well as the masks belong to the category of mahamba, that is to say "objects, rites, initiations and cults bequeathed to the clan by the ancestors".
The ikhoko pendants had the function of protecting people against the misdeeds of certain masks.
The author adds that certain important mbuya intervened during healing rites and that it was precisely those which were reproduced as pendants: these are the kiwoyo, muyombo and kinjinga masks, provided with a wooden beard, masks hairstyles with long fumu and phumbu spikes, representing respectively the chief and the vigilante, and finally the mask called pota.
“Who receives the gikhokho from an ascendant receives from it the vital principle called givule (shadow)”.
This admirable miniature is therefore a replica of the masks of the chief or the vigilante (or warrior), recognizable by the toothed crown which covers it; this is the stylization of the hairstyle in blackened raffia points worn by the two masks fumu and phumbu, which are generally difficult to distinguish from each other.
The museum of Tervuren, in Brussels, has about two hundred ikhoko amulets of different types from the first generation (pre-colonial period until the 1940s). With the growing demand from Western expatriates for this kind of pieces with a traditional character, carvers began more massive production to meet this demand around the middle of the 20th century. It is probably a copy of this period. They nevertheless retain a great aesthetic interest and constitute a historical testimony to the evolution of art in Africa.
The oldest copies generally trade for several tens (even hundreds) of thousands of euros.
02322
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- 20th c.
- Size
- 5,5 cm (9 cm with support)
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Bone
- Country
- Origin
- Tribal art collection Belgium
- Stand
- Included
- Condition
- Excellent
You might also like
Mukanda Items
In African tribal art, Pende ikhoko (sing. gikhoko) pendants or charms such as this, originating in southern Bandundu, almost all originating in the so-called katundu-style region, are miniature replicas of ivory or bone, more rarely in wood, some traditional mbuya masks.
The latter are African masks adorned with raffia that used to dance on various ritual or festive occasions and especially during the closing of the mukanda circumcision rite.
The circumcision rites or mukanda as well as the masks belong to the category of mahamba, that is to say "objects, rites, initiations and cults bequeathed to the clan by the ancestors".
The ikhoko pendants had the function of protecting people against the misdeeds of certain masks.
The author adds that certain important mbuya intervened during healing rites and that it was precisely those which were reproduced as pendants: these are the kiwoyo, muyombo and kinjinga masks, provided with a wooden beard, masks hairstyles with long fumu and phumbu spikes, representing respectively the chief and the vigilante, and finally the mask called pota.
“Who receives the gikhokho from an ascendant receives from it the vital principle called givule (shadow)”.
This admirable miniature is therefore a replica of the masks of the chief or the vigilante (or warrior), recognizable by the toothed crown which covers it; this is the stylization of the hairstyle in blackened raffia points worn by the two masks fumu and phumbu, which are generally difficult to distinguish from each other.
The museum of Tervuren, in Brussels, has about two hundred ikhoko amulets of different types from the first generation (pre-colonial period until the 1940s). With the growing demand from Western expatriates for this kind of pieces with a traditional character, carvers began more massive production to meet this demand around the middle of the 20th century. It is probably a copy of this period. They nevertheless retain a great aesthetic interest and constitute a historical testimony to the evolution of art in Africa.
The oldest copies generally trade for several tens (even hundreds) of thousands of euros.