Nkonde Nail Fetish
Bantu Tribe, Gabon
Using sacred medicines for divine intervention from evil spirits are central to the rituals of the Bantu Tribe who are believed to have migrated into the region roughly 2,000 years ago from western and central Africa. Their iron-age weaponry and pastoralist way of life enabled them to dominate and displace the original inhabitants of the region, the stone-age hunter-foragers.
This Nkonde Nail Fetish is a protective figure used by individuals, families, or whole communities to destroy or weaken evil spirits, prevent or cure illnesses, repel bad deeds, solemnize contracts or oath-taking and decide arguments and treaties.
A chief diviner or holy person activates the statute by using magical substances or medicines. Each nail constitutes a problem solved or amends made by a guilty party. Rather than committing to protracted unhappiness within the community, a nail is hammered through the neck or temple of the fetish sculpture to alleviate tensions, satisfy revenge and bring about resolutions to the spirits involved in the provocation.
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The Nkonde Nail Fetish is part of MoAW's
Faces of Africa
exhibition, a Mystical View of Tribal Heritage.
Faithfully recreated by award-winning artist Richard W. Jones, this critically acclaimed collection of authentic reproductions of ancient masks, murals, and sculptures celebrates 3,500 years of African tribal art and traditions.
From ancient Nok heads to the spectacular masks of Dogon dances and contemporary South African murals, the popular Faces of Africa is an intimate and mystical view of the tribal heritage.
Representing collections of African antiquities removed from the continent during times of colonization, the originals are housed in the great museums of Europe, including the Louvre in Paris, the British Museum of London, the Berlin Museum in Germany and the Dutch Museums of the Netherlands, to mention a few. The Faces of Africa is an opportunity to view them without leaving your backyard.
Below is a fascinating video on tribal nail fetishes:
Tips From A Messy Studio #18, Nkisi Nkondi.
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A Special Thank You to Chris Parman, Director of Communications, Cathedral City, and
Conrad Angel Corrall, Host of CCTV
Chris has worked hard to get MoAW recognized as part of the educational and cultural life of Cathedral City, putting us on the city website, featuring us on the digital bill board by city hall, and along with Conrad, filmed this segment for CCTV. A link to it is available under
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Next Week;
Order Ornithischia,
Family Hadrosauridae
Maiasaura peeblesorum
Late Cretaceous, Montana
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