Magazines - Tribal Art Autumn 2007
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By Frère Joseph-Aurélien Cornet (1919–2004), a recognized authority on the arts of the Congo and Zaire, who was the the general director of the Institut des Musées Nationaux de Zaire in Kinshasa.
Introduction: The history of the art of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of Congo) is relatively well known through a vast number of studies that have been published over the last thirty years. But every now and then a surprise comes along that catches the interest of art historians and collectors. The recent appearance of a number of previously unpublished Chokwe pendants is one such case. To the best of my knowledge, the only recent publication in which these pendants appears is a collective work, edited by Manuel Jordan, titled Chokwe! Art and Initiation Among Chokwe and Related Peoples (1998). Figure 51 in this book shows a necklace of blue beads with two small ivory masks. These can be easily identified as simplified versions of two typical Chokwe masks: mwana pwo (female ancestor) and chihongo (male spirit of wealth). Though clearly Chokwe, these beg to be compared with the Pende pendants that are known as ikhoko (singular gikhoko). These lovely objects in ivory, wood, brass, or sometimes aluminum are well known and highly valued. For the most part, ikhoko are also miniature replicas of Pende masks, especially the classic mbuya examples, and many studies have been dedicated to these fascinating pieces (see TRIBAL, Summer 2003). The existence of more or less analogous pendants produced by the Chokwe was recognized by Leon Bajrach, a diamond buyer who was particularly interested in the art and customs of the Eastern Pende and Chokwe peoples. He made numerous and lengthy journeys to the DRC from 1976–2002, especially to the area around Chikapa in West Kasai, and to Angola from 1994–2004. In the 1920s, diamonds were discovered in West Kasai and it has been a heavily restricted area for foreigners since. Because of foreign travel restrictions and certain policies of the Mobutu government, West Kasai is a region where traditional art and ritual are still particularly alive, especially relating to such traditions as the inauguration of tribal leaders and Mukanda initiation. The latter is a rite that can be found referred to by the same name in the traditions of the Pende as well as in cultures in the western part of Zambia. During his many visits to West Kasai, Bajrach collected a number of Chokwe pendants. These pendants are similar to Pende ikhoko in their general form, material, and size, but there are also many noteworthy differences, both in the specifics of form and in their meaning and use. |