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<p>[QUOTE="2manybooks, post: 4319474, member: 8267"]None of the figures are in a typically Cameroonian style. I believe they all may be from the neighboring Congo region. I have seen the hat/hair and posture of the second figure in carvings by the Yombe people of Congo. The first figure looks like a depiction of a hunter. He may have had a spear in his upraised right hand, but I can't see what he holds in his left. You don't say, but it looks like the last figure may be the tallest one. It looks like he is one that had materials removed. He probably had a small container on his stomach that contained spiritually charged materials called nkisi (plural minkisi), a term which can also refer to the whole figure. I do not see evidence of materials having been removed from either of the other figures.</p><p><br /></p><p>By the mid 20th century there was a well established trade in making such carvings for sale. Even replicas of minkisi have been made, as they are very popular with tourists and collectors. Without knowing the history of your specific carvings, I can't say if they were made for use in a Congo society. But I doubt it.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="2manybooks, post: 4319474, member: 8267"]None of the figures are in a typically Cameroonian style. I believe they all may be from the neighboring Congo region. I have seen the hat/hair and posture of the second figure in carvings by the Yombe people of Congo. The first figure looks like a depiction of a hunter. He may have had a spear in his upraised right hand, but I can't see what he holds in his left. You don't say, but it looks like the last figure may be the tallest one. It looks like he is one that had materials removed. He probably had a small container on his stomach that contained spiritually charged materials called nkisi (plural minkisi), a term which can also refer to the whole figure. I do not see evidence of materials having been removed from either of the other figures. By the mid 20th century there was a well established trade in making such carvings for sale. Even replicas of minkisi have been made, as they are very popular with tourists and collectors. Without knowing the history of your specific carvings, I can't say if they were made for use in a Congo society. But I doubt it.[/QUOTE]
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