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35. Ceremonial Adze: Female Heads (Kibiki or Kasolwa)
Luba, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Wood, metal; H. 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.)
19th–20th century
Neuberger Museum of art, Purchase College, State University of New York, gift from the Lawrene Gussman Collection of African Art
1999.06.112

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35. Ceremonial Adze: Female Heads (Kibiki or Kasolwa)

n Luba society, the enlightenment, counsel, and therapeutic benefits afforded by diviners provide an essential complement to the executive and legislative role of the governing elite.1 The status and rank of Bilumbu diviners as an advisory branch of royal authority is underscored by their ownership of a ceremonial adze, carried over the shoulder. This, together with a range of additional costume elements worn by Bilumbu diviners, outwardly alludes to their alliance with the king and other Luba politico-religious leaders and distinguishes them from nonroyal mediums, such as diviners who operate friction oracles in the practice of the form of divination known as kashekesheke. (See cat. nos. 11, 20, the Pemberton essay introduction, and part 2 of the essay.)2

Mary Nooter Roberts notes that the most ornate Luba adzes were probably reserved for kings, chiefs, and court officials, and those that served as emblems of diviners were not necessarily embellished with figurative elements. Because contextual documentation was rarely recorded for such works now in museum collections at the time they were gathered, it is difficult to determine the vocation of the person who originally owned the example shown here.3

The carved female heads at the top and bottom of this adze are identical, except for the addition of the iron blade that extends out from the mouth of the one at the top like a tongue. This doubling may be related to the paired female images that evoke possessing spirits associated with sacred kingship, found throughout Luba prestige arts. The flat, slightly arched blade, flared at the tip and decorated with incised linear designs, was forged by hammering and welding various grades of steel.4 Prominent conical iron pins projecting from the back of the coiffure represent a sacred hammer or anvil form (kinyundu) that appears in most Luba royal regalia. 5 This attribute of power and authority ensures that the owner may channel its spiritual energy.

Iron played a vital role in Luba society as the material that blacksmiths used to make implements necessary for subsistence, and it took on spiritual significance in the creation of ceremonial adzes and conical hairpins, among the most important artifacts designed by blacksmiths to "forge and recall royal memory."6

1. Nooter 1991, p. 172.

2. Memory 1996, pp. 187, 213.

3. Ibid., pp. 76, 194.

4. Dewey and Childs in Memory 1996, pp. 61–83.

5. Memory 1996, p. 60.

6. Dewey and Childs in Memory 1996, pp. 66, 76.