Yaka Fetish  - Phuungu
 
Country: DR Congo.
Culture: Yaka.
Date: end 19th or early 20th century.
Medium: wood, leather, fiber, composite material (bilongo).
Size: h. 19 cm (7½ in.); h. incl. base 22 cm (8¾ in.).
Reference: YAKIV10/1.
Provenance:
ex colonial collection J. V., Bruges (BE).
Extra: The Yaka inhabit the wooded plateau and savanna areas between the Kwango and Wamba rivers in southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo, directly bordering Angola to the west. Yaka society is organized into strong lineage groups led by elders and lineage heads.
This power figure, discovered in an old colonial collection in Bruges and probably from the end of the 19th century, is an exceptionally rare and authentic carved wooden fetish figure known as ‘Phuungu’ and is featuring a highly layered and encrusted surface patina that evidences genuine age and ritual use. The figure, characterized by the typical Yaka head covering and pronounced forehead, has a fully intact bilongo (encapsulated magical ingredients, width 8 cm).
 
Photo credit: © Jean Godecharle.