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Bow Stand
Nsakakabem
unidentified Congolese
Congolese
----
undated
The bowstands of the Luba have been described in the early literature by European visitors to southeastern Zaire. Father Colle reported that bowstands could be made of either iron or wood. They were placed next to the conjugal bed, driven into the ground or into the wall of the house (Colle 1913:167-8). The arrows placed on the stand were symbols of the union of marriage -- during the wedding ceremony an arrow is placed in the ground before the parents of the bride and groom to symbolize the indissoluble nature of the marriage (Sendwe 1955:61, Preeraer and Manoly 1938:11). Others reported that the bowstand was a symbol of chiefly power (de Maret 1973:10, Hall 1923:192-197). The bowstand is placed before the chief to hold his bow and arrows. A woman of high rank is the only person who is allowed to care for the object (Cornet 1972:212, Tatum 1984). Similar bowstands, made of iron, have been described among the Bemba and other groups in northern Zambia west of Lake Tanganyika, where they were called nsakakabemba . "These bowstands are considered as sacred, because they are definitely considered to be relics from the past. In all three tribes I mention -- Babemba, Babisa, Baunga -- the natives declare emphatically that the arrowstands came from Lubaland, from whence they trace their origin. They were carried with them, they say, on their march into their present territory some time during the beginning of the eighteenth century. It is for this reason, they assert, that the nsakakabemba are kept sacred in the tribal relic houses, with other objects of similar origin; and, in the case of the Babisa and Baushi, placed with other valuables, such as ivory tusks, on the graves of chiefs" (Richards 1935:31). -- Professor Christopher Roy, School of Art and Art History, University of Iowa
Southern Savannah Africa Congo (Zaire)
Buli (Luba style)
Height: 25 5/8 inches Width: 10 1/4 inches
Wood, Fiber
The Stanley Collection
University of Iowa. Stanley Museum of Art
X1986_442
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wood (plant material) fiber
183425165
Placed outside door to chief's hut
Governance Women's art
Political