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32. Diviner's Mask
Yombe, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola
Wood, organic material; 22.9 x 16.8 cm (9 x 6 5/8 in.)
Early 20th century
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

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32. Diviner's Mask

genre of Yombe face mask in this relatively naturalistic style is associated with an especially powerful divination specialist, the nganga diphomba. Such works played an integral role in the real-life drama of prosecuting antisocial acts in Yombe communities. In that context, these works inspired confidence in the diphomba's ability to dispense justice and instill fear in the minds of people with guilty consciences.

The nganga diphomba was a specialist devoted primarily to the detection of witches. The preeminent seers and analysts within their profession, diphomba were without equals in their ability to expose the underlying causes of disruptive developments, ranging from crimes, accidents, and deaths to natural disasters such as droughts and scarcity of game.1 They ultimately attributed all these problems to covert actions by some members of the community, who were motivated by malice, greed, or envy. In order to arrive at these conclusions, diphomba either interpreted signs indicated by devices such as friction oracles or themselves served as the vehicle for oracular pronouncements of ancestral spirits.2

The Yombe are a subgroup within the extended Kongo culture. In Kongo societies, most therapeutic interventions that affected the well-being of the community at large took the form of public spectacles. The masked diphomba dispensed his verdict on such a matter and identified the culprit while participating in a performance wearing a skirt of touraco feathers and a belt with small brass bells, his body painted with black, white, and red pigments applied in geometric designs.3 Within Kongo culture, the use of this combination of colors is restricted to rituals of diagnosis and divination. The black color of the mask shown here is similarly associated with judgment, divination, and witchcraft trials.4

It is thought that such masks are idealized representations of the diviners who wore them. Yombe masks, which are part of the broader tradition of relatively naturalistic Kongo sculptural forms (see cat. no. 9), all show an especially striking emphasis on heightened realism.5 Here, the subject has been depicted with his eyes closed and mouth open and displays an expression of intense concentration. In other Yombe masks, portraitlike qualities are suggested through such additional features as teeth or piercing gazes, the latter rendered through fully articulated eyes punctuated by empty pupils. The head is usually crowned by a simple cap form, and some examples include beards composed of animal hair attached to the base of the chin.

In Kongo societies, the regard in which diviners are held is somewhat ambiguous, as is the case with others who occupy positions of leadership. Reigning cultural perceptions attribute any remarkable quality or accomplishment that sets an individual apart as an unnatural achievement acquired through witchcraft (kindoki). Even when used as a power directed toward legitimate ends to help others, the ability to foretell the future is interpreted in this manner.6 In order to effectively assist the more vulnerable members of society in resolving problems and combating destructive forces, it is essential that diviners be invested with the very powers of witchcraft that besiege the populace.

1. Raoul Lehuard, Art Bakongo: Les Masques (Arnouville, France: Arts d'Afrique Noire, 1993), pp. 774, 778.

2. MacGaffey 1986, p. 166.

3. Lehuard, Art Bakongo, p. 774.

4. Jacobson-Widding 1979, p. 225.

5. Lehuard, Art Bakongo, pp. 774–96.

6. MacGaffey 1986, p. 168.