Songye power figures, protectors of the village, Nsapo region, Congo (Democratic Republic)

"For the nkishi is not merely a visual and metaphoric representation. It is above all a receptacle for magical medecines (bishimba) and, as such, an instrument of change and stabilization used by a community to counteract illness, sterility, famine and other misfortunes caused by evil spirits and especially by sorcerers. The magical ingredients, placed most often in the horn or simply in a cavity in the head and the abdominal protusion, are selected and ritually introduced into the figure by the nganga, a magical specialist." [Hersak, D., 2000: Power Figure (Nkishi); Africa: Arts and Cultures. Oxford University Press]. During his trip to Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited Nsapo villages in the Songye people region. The present day Songye people inhabit a vast area of the Congo concentrated in the province of Eastern and stretching into parts of Katanga and Kiori. The largest subgroups include the Kalebwe, Eastern Songe Songye, Nde, Bala, Cibenji, Lembwe, Songa, Cofew and the Budia. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from January 8, 1947 to end of June 1947.