These minkisi are wooden figures representing a human or animal, such as a dog (nkisi kozo) carved under the divine authority and in consultation with an nganga or spiritual specialist who activates these figures through chants, prayers, and the preparation of sacred substances which are aimed at ‘curing’ physical, social or spiritual ailments.

They also affected the upper body. Head, neck, and chest pains were said to be caused by these nkisi figures. Some figures were in the form of animals. Most often these were dogs (kozo). Dogs are closely tied to the spiritual world in Kongo mythology. They live in two separate worlds; the village of the living, and the forest of the dead.

This male figure riding a dog contains empowering medicine placed within by a priest or nganga. The sculptural element was produced by a skilled carver from a single piece of wood. The figure’s head and torso are disproportionately larger than the rest of the body, with both arms close to the body at tense angles.

This power figure probably represents a dog. In Vili and other communities in central Africa, dogs live in villages and hunt in forests. Thus, they were thought to move freely between the worlds of the living and the dead, their keen sense of smell and …

Title: Male Power Figure (Nkisi) Artist: Kongo artist and nganga. Date: late19th–mid-20th century. Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo. Culture: Kongo. Medium: Wood, pigment, nails, cloth, beads, shells, arrows, leather, nuts, twine. Dimensions: H. 23 1/8 x D. 10 1/4 x W. 10 in. (58.8 x 26 x 25.4 cm) Classification: Wood-Sculpture

Carved wooden figure of two-headed dog, covered over the torso with inserted pieces of iron nails, other inclusions comprise wire (iron), resin (?), vegetable fibre, horn (?), and bone (?).

2006年7月23日 · Kozo, a dog-form nkisi (object that invokes the spirits), helped a diviner track witches. It was often grouped with a specific type of nkisi, an nkisi nkondi, "the hunter." The figure shown here still retains resin and mirror-covered medicinal material on its back, with traces of additional material under the tail.

Kongo carvers produced wooden carvings (minkisi, singular: nkisi) in human form, which were used in rituals to solve problems or to gain wealth, and also in the form of animals, particularly...

Power Figure of a Dog (nkisi or nkisi mbwa), late 19th century Wood, paint, mirror, glass, leather, and reed. 7 ¾ × 3 ¼ × 6 ¾ in. (19.7 × 8.3 × 17.1 cm)

Minkisi (singular nkisi), often referred to in English as “power figures,” were made by Kongo people, such as the Yombe, residing in the area now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. These figures are, in effect, vessels for containing spiritual forces.