Cassandra Trujillo

Culture project essay

Humanities

It took a lot of pushing and persistence to get my parents to take me to the UMMA but
when I made a point that my Professor claimed it was a requirement for the class they were
finally on board. On an early saturday morning my father, my sister, and I went to Ann arbor to
accomplish a visit to the University of Michigan Museum of Art. I had never been to the
University of Michigan Museum of Art, but it did not disappoint. When we parked off
University street I filled that meter with every silver coin I could find, because I knew that we
were going to be in there for a long while. The size of the building itself was impressive, it was
like a maze with art enrichment on every wall and around every corner. The exhibits were
separated by cultures, which was very organized and convenient. Though I lost my family twice
it was a great experience and is a great idea for a day trip to Ann arbor. I was very interested in
the Renaissance artwork, but the African art collection was much more interesting. Particularly
the pieces from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The first piece I chose was a Mbangu mask from the central Pende peoples, circa 1930.
The mask is made from wood, pigments, vegetable fiber, and raffia. The twisted face and
dramatic opposition of black and white identify this mask is as an Mbangu mask, which
represents infirmity and sickness- conditions that are often attributed to witchcraft. According to
a common Pende explanation, Mbangus half-white, half-black face represents the scars of
someone who fell into the fire due to sorcery, while the asymmetry of the face and the marks on
the black side are an indication of various other medical conditions. When the mask appears in
performance, the dancer limps on a cane to convey the physical weakness of Mbangu, and he
wears a humpback pierced with an arrow in reference to sorcerers who shoot their victims with
invisible arrows.

Cassandra Trujillo
Culture project essay
Humanities

Mbangu masks have a long history among Central Pende peoples. The minganji, or
masks of power, represent the ancestors; the mbuya, or village masks, represent human types,
such as the chief, the diviner, the epileptic with a twisted mouth, the madman or man in a trance,
the widow, the lover, or the executioner. While examples from the first decade of the twentieth
century do not have pierced eyes and were worn on the forehead; after that the Mbangu genre
became a facemask, with pierced eyes and distortion of the facial features. Belgians had colonial
rule from eighteen eighty-five to nineteen sixty, even after this Pende performers invented new
forms and genres of masks. Their popularity has fluctuated over time, and today the importance
of masquerade remains strong. The Pende have largely removed its importance from its
original ritual use.Instead they stress the power of masks to beautify the village and bring
happiness to its inhabitants.
The second artwork is a power figure, or Nkisi nduda. Made by the Yombe peoples of the
Democratic Republic of Congo. Also from the late 19th Century. Wood, cloth, fiber, animal
hides, feathers, mirror, glass, resin, medicinal substances, and pigment. The power figures
contain powerful medicine. Through the intervention of a ritual expert (nganga), an nkisi, or
power figure, becomes imbued with the capacity to heal, protect, or, conversely, to do harm to
ones enemies. This nkisis stare suggests that it stands guard, and the mirror on its torso is
intended to deflect subversive forces. Its potency is increased by bundles of medicinal herbs
contained beneath the feathered turban. Strips of curling hide radiate around the figure and
extend its energy into the surrounding space. Before the Belgian colonization these would be
used to heal, harm, and protect among other things. Unfortunately most colonial officials and
missionaries banned power figures from their precincts. The large number found in art

Cassandra Trujillo
Culture project essay
Humanities

collections throughout the world speaks to the undeniable allure and charisma of these objects, as
well as to the vigor with which they were removed by the authorities. Many are damaged and
most were destroyed or thrown away.
The third piece of artwork is a stool from the Luba people, in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo. From about eighteen seventy-five to nineteen hundred, its made of wood and looks
to be covered in a lacquer or stain of some kind. The Luba people were believed to have a close
relationship with magic, and are said to be very aggressive. Luba artists carried a ceremonial ax
on their shoulders to show the prestige and dignity of their position. The characteristics of Luba
sculpture are; intricate hair-dress, often in the form of a cross, or falling down like a cascade; a
grooved diagonal band separating the hair-line from the forehead; eyes shaped like coffee-beans;
small simplified cats ears; ornamental cicatrices in relief on the body; the surface elaborately
worked and polished. The traditional carvings are for ancestor and spirit cults, for initiation,
medical and divination purposes. The favorite theme in sculpture was woman since, according to
the Luba myth, vilie was the first woman spirit, founder of the clan and guarantor of fertility and
the lineage. Women were cult guardians, and the royal wives played an important role: sent as
emissaries to the chiefs of neighboring ethnicities, they would contract profitable political
alliances based on marriage. Some figures are freestanding, almost always in a frontal position,
often with their hands on their breasts; others are kneeling, sitting, or standing figures whose
upraised hands serve as supports for bowls, seats, and neck rests. The figures are often
characterized by elaborate scarification patterns on the body. (C.3) The scarification on the
womans body and her elaborate hairstyle have a deeper meaning than beauty. The scarification
makes a woman a more effective vessel for spiritual embodiment and the particular pattern on

Cassandra Trujillo
Culture project essay
Humanities

the stomach contains messages about the sacred power of the king. Similarly, the intricate
hairstyle educates on the complexities of Luba political power as both female and male, both of
this world and the other.
Curiously, Luba female figures often refer to the spirits of male rulers, as in this case of
this caryatid stool portraying a kneeling woman. In the Luba kingdom, women served as
mediums for the spirits of deceased rulers; this role was symbolized in stools, the most important
symbol of the Luba kingship. Not just a royal throne, a Luba stool is a symbolic microcosm of
sacred spirit capitals- called bitenta- where the spirits of previous kings are guarded by female
spirit mediums. While this intricately carved and shiny polished stool represents the Luba
concept of beauty, it also represents ancient customs and traditions. The Luba people still make
up a large percentage of the area and have become racially mixed, but language, customs, and
education remains uniform.
The Pende people are still around today, and though they do not use the Mbangu masks
as frequently theyve managed to keep their culture intact and their way of life unthreatened,
they are not a very large amount of people, but they are a known tribe of the Congo. The Luba I
would not recommend visiting, because they are known as being an aggressive people. Though
there are nine clans in the Luba tribe, perhaps not all of them are violent, they make up a lot of
the Congos population and are still flourishing today. On a more tragic note, the Yombe people
were invaded in the early nineteenth century by Belgium, colonized, and then their religion was
taken away from them, very much like the book Things fall apart by Chinua Achebe. I feel as
though their artwork reflects the ancient beliefs that they are missing. To see the heart of a
culture taken away is painful, especially when today we have pieces of that heart in exhibitions

Cassandra Trujillo
Culture project essay
Humanities

far away from the body. I enjoyed seeing them in person, but I wish that the events that brought
them here didnt have to take place. The Yombe people are still around today, they are not a very
large tribe in the Congo, but they are there and maybe they will rediscover their traditions,
perhaps make new ones. I enjoyed this assignment and I hope to visit the UMMA again and get
lost in the past.





Works cited page
1)
--, Unknown -. "ArtBabble." Dallas Museum of Art Collection: Nkisi Nkondi. Dallas Museum of
Art, ----. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
2)
--, Unknown --. UMMA. ----. University of Michigan Museum of Art. Michigan, United States,
Ann Arbor.
3)
-----, Unknown --. "Luba." Luba. Zyama.com, ----. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
4)
-----, Unknown --. "Www.Zyama.com." - African Art Museum. Zyama.com, ----+. Web. 21 Apr.
2014.

Cassandra Trujillo
Culture project essay
Humanities

5)
-------, Unknown --. "Index.html." Index.html. Zyama.com, ----. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.