Congolese Hemba People Ancestor Figure: "Singiti"
Collection: Spiritual Connections
Object Category: Religious Items
Object Type: Ritual Object, Altars
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Continent: Africa
Geographic Region: Middle Africa
Materials: Wood
width: 4 in;
height: 8 in;
depth: 4 in
This Congolese Hemba People figure represents an ancestor. Ancestor effigies are called “Singiti.” These figures were hidden in a separate shrine near the Hemba chief’s family compound.
In ancestral rites, the sculptures were used to retell the heroic deeds of the ancestor. Sculptors concentrate on two parts of the body: the head, where knowledge is acquired, and the swollen stomach with an exaggerated umbilicus, or belly button, where the ancestors are connected to each other. The coiffure signifies the directions and crossroads where spirits gather.
Source:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/320673
https://dclu.langston.edu/africanartcollection_14_15/23/