Mpu prestige cap

Worn by high Kongo chiefs, and occasionally powerful priests or healers, mpu are emblems of status and authority. While a chief typically has a set of such headgear for various occasions, the mpu in which he is enthroned will be the highest ranking and will become synonymous with his person over time. The connection between the mpu and Kongo conceptions of chieftaincy is evident in the Kikongo language itself, where the very title of high chief, mfumu a mpu, translates as “chief of the mpu.” It is also said, Mu mpu mu zingila nsi, which roughly translates as “it is the mpu which makes nsi live and last”—where nsi refers to the divine link between a ruler and his domain or territory.

Such works are created by knotting and looping pineapple or raffia fiber to produce a variety of surface textures and eyelet designs. These designs frequently address themes of divine kingship and of Kongo cosmology more broadly. This example features a spiraling pattern descending in five or six rings from the apex. Its main vertical surface is richly embellished with multiple registers of diamond patterning. Against the backdrop of a smaller, raised waffle weave, a central motif of larger diamonds, outline in striped bands, encircles the object. These bands, which vary in texture, occasionally interlace to create the effect of a continuous, rectangular chain.