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TRIBAL AFRICAN ART
KUBA (BACOUBA, BAKUBA, BUSHONGO)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Numbering about 250,000 the Kuba
live in the area of central DRC bordered by the Sankuru, Kasai, and Lulua rivers. This is
a region of valleys where numerous rivers flow south to north; the hills are covered with
brush and the rivers are bordered by forests. Farming, aside from clearing the fields, was
women’s work; they cultivate manioc, corn, gourds, bananas, pineapples, and palms.
Tobacco was grown by the men. The hunt, a collective enterprise using nets, brought
prestige and reinforced the social cohesion between the villagers. To fish the rivers
required the participation of the entire village in order to build canoes. Although today
most Kuba ethnic groups are organized into independent chiefdoms, they still recognize the
authority of the Bushong king.
The art of the Kuba is one of the
most highly developed of all African traditions, and significant cultural accomplishments
are part of their heritage. Among the best known of Kuba art forms are royal portrait
figures, ndop, idealized representations. An ndop may have played a role in
the installation of the king, and during his life it is said to have been not only a
portrait but also the soul double of the king. Whatever happened to him was believed to
happen to it as well. Closely associated with the king’s fertility, the ndop
was kept in the woman’s quarters, and was placed next to his wives during childbirth
to ensure safe delivery.
Developing from the court style was a popular style, which
utilized geometric forms instead of the well-modeled, full-volume forms of the court
figures. Kuba fetishes, emphasizing only essential organs, are highly schematic. The
popular style can also be found in the utensils and textiles produced by the Kuba.
Over twenty types of masks are used among the Kuba, with meanings and functions that vary from group to group.
Kuba wooden helmet masks are probably the most commonly produced items, popular with the collectors. These striking masks are wonderfully decorated with geometrical surface designs in dazzling contrasts of color, pattern, and texture. Hide, animal hair, fur, beads, cowrie shells, and feathers ornament the masks, and costumes of bark-cloth, raffia fiber fabric, and beaded elements complete the manifestation of nature spirits, intermediaries between the Supreme Being and the people. One widespread context for masking is initiation. Every several years a group of boys will be inducted into manhood through the initiation which transforms uncircumcised boys into initiated men who possess esoteric knowledge. Funerals are a second important context for masks throughout the Kuba area. Three types of masks have been associated with dances that take place within the royal compound: the first, called Moshambwooy, represents Woot, the founder of the Bushoong, the culture hero. The second, known as Nady Amwaash (Ngaady A Mwash), personifies the wife/sister of Woot, a character said to have been introduced to the pageantry to give greater importance to the role of women. The third mask is called Bwoom. As a character, Bwoom has been interpreted variously as a prince (the king’s younger brother), a commoner, a pygmy, even a subversive element at the royal court. There are many differences among regional stylistic interpretations of the Bwoom mask, but the form’s most pronounced features invariably are its bulging forehead and broad nose. The drama is often reenacted in performances at public ceremonies, initiations, and funerals even of untitled men, though they are especially important at the funerals of titleholders. Bwoom is perhaps the oldest of the Kuba royal masquerade triumvirate. Oral traditions suggest that the genre may date back to about the middle of the eighteenth century. Other masks are collectively known as Isheene Mwalu.The Kuba love of form, knowledge of
materials, skill in execution, and appreciation of quality are best seen in the number and
variety of cups and goblets, mostly for drinking palm wine. There are reports – not
confirmed – that these cups might have been used in the poison ordeal. Among the
Kuba, as among other African tribes, death was never attributed to natural causes but to
malevolent spirits or to witchcraft. The person suspected of using witchcraft was required
to drink poison from such a cup. If he vomited up the drink, he was declared innocent. On
the other hand, his death proclaimed his guilt and constituted his punishment.
The Kuba smiths worked with copper,
iron, and brass, making weapons and tools to be admired as well as used. In some cases,
one metal was inlaid with another. The Kuba also give expression to their great artistic
sense in utensils: boxes, weapons, tobacco pipes, drums, drinking horns, bells, well-known
musical instrument sanza, and textiles with ingeniously designed pattern work. The
luxury articles made for the court are characterized by elaborate execution and
rhythmically balanced form; for it was at court that the finest artists gathered, and here
that they had an opportunity to gain prestige and renown. A good carver had the rank of a
senior official.
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