LEGA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

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This small male figurine (iganga) is a type used within the Bwami society of the Lega in eastern D. R. Congo. Iganga figures were displayed during initiation rites and moral lessons, accompanied by songs, proverbs, and spiritual instruction. They functioned as mnemonic devices, representing ethical principles and models of both good and ill behavior, and were gradually revealed to Bwami initiates in stages.

Wood, bone, and ivory were Lega artists’ materials of choice for these distinctive statuettes. Bone figures held more prestige than their wooden counterparts, and they were typically reserved for individuals of high rank, often those who had attained the uppermost levels of the Bwami hierarchy, such as yananio or kindi. Associated with genetic lineage and life essence, bone images carried profound layers of meaning and invited serious reflection on legacy, mortality, and generational wisdom.

Iganga are semi-abstract and are often carved with a strong geometric flavor, as seen in this fine example. Diamond shapes define the forms of both head and face, and echo in the angular ridges of the shoulder line and the flexed, powerful-looking legs. Arms are reduced to stylized bars, and the torso is a simple rectangular shape decorated down its length by a double row of dark pokered points. The effect of wear and aging on the bone surface has created a magnificently mottled and eroded patina that invites long examination and lends a ghostly aura to the figure, a subtly haunting impression that seems doubly expressed in its entranced, remote, and staring gaze.