presents:
Exhibition Sale

KONGO ARTS

first part (1/2)

For the public, the word "Kongo" evoques immediately the African continent. Today, two countries and a river carry this name. But the word "Kongo", written "Congo" today, also evoques seven centuries of history - a history that is inseperable from that of central Africa. "Kongo" is first of all the name of a people, who after a long migration, settled down in the XIII Century at the mouth of the great river. When the portugese, in search of a new route to India, arrived in 1482 on the Angolan coast, they entered for the first time in contact with the Kongo Kingdom. Powerful and stuctured, this Kingdom extended from what today is northern Angola, eastern D.R.C.(ex Zaire), Cabinda, southern Congo (Brazzaville) and a part of Gabon. Organized into six provinces, the Kongo Kingdom encoumpassed a large number of ethnic groups. Fruits of military conquest, results of Kongo lineages, or simply attracted by the splendor of the Kingdom, these other groups adopted a large part of the Kongo culture. Thus, the Sundis, Bembes, Yombes, Vilis, whose commun language is Kikongo, formed this large collection of people still known today as "Bakongo". But far from being a homogeneous group, the Bakongos have kept a part of their original traditions. From centuries of history and inter minglings, result a richness and diversity that we invite you to admire few exemples. Click on this link to access the map of the Kongo region

Ivory figure Vili fetish Yombe mask "Nkisi" "Nkisi Tsi" Ancestor figure Next : 1 2