#nkisis

“ Uma vez, me perguntaram o por que de tanto amor e dedicação a religião

E eu sem relutar respondi de "bate pronto"

Foi a religião que me libertou das amarras que me prendiam Foi na religião que eu encontrei respostas para as perguntas que por anos insistiam em gritar na minha cabeça

Mas a bem da verdade, o amor está nos orixás, onde estiver e/ou houver orixá, pode ter certeza que eu estarei

Estarei com Exu, Ogum, Odè

O amor é tanto que sempre me coloca de pé

Estarei com Ossain, Iansã, Oxum

O amor é grande e me move ao som do rum

Obá, Yemanja, Yewa, Oxumarê, Obaluaê

É tanto amor que você deveria conhecer

Nanã, Xangô e Oxalá

É tanto amor que quero com o mundo compartilhar

Parafraseando Luiz de Camões "O AMOR É FOGO QUE ARDE SEM SE VER"

(Texto: @wendderferreira)

Student Docents at UMMA are encouraged to be creative when they engage with the Museum's collection and when they interpret it for others. This is the second year we have asked them to identify art in our collection that speaks to them about a theme and present their understanding to a specific audience. This year they were asked to explore the topic of "race" in connection with the Understanding Race LSA Theme Semester. This week The Annex is featuring the comments they wrote about the art they selected. We hope you will enjoy this project.

Artist Unknown, African, Yombe Peoples Democratic Republic of the Congo

Power Figure (nkisi nduda)

Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern 2005/1.191

Unknown Artist, Vili Peoples, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Nail figure (nkisi nkondi)

Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern, 2005/1.192

In examining our semester of Understanding Race I want to pull out the word “understanding” as a key term. Before we can even begin to understand race we must first abolish our misunderstandings. Africa is commonly misrepresented in western culture as a dark, mysterious, and primitive continent.  Similarly, African art is often unwittingly misinterpreted. A good example is the nkisi. To a beginning admirer of African art the nkisi seems foreign, strange, and possibly frightening, which perpetuates the image of Africa as a dangerous and primitive place. The nails in the first nkisi seem aggressive and give the figure an intimidating aura. The second, smaller nkisi is adorned with hides and feathers of animals, often seen as primitive, and the mirror in its center adds confusion. But to understand these figures and then African culture we must abolish our preconceived notions and have an open mind. The nails in the first nkisi are not violent but political; each nail represents a contract between two people in a community. The nkisi is kept by an important leader in the town and when an agreement is made and meant to be official, the two people will put a nail in the nkisi, solidifying the contract much like a signature. The second nkisi has a traditional mirror that represents the looking glass into the spirit world. These figures are not only important instruments of mediation for the town but also important religious objects that carry medicinal herbs inside and symbolically powerful animal skins outside. By learning about the nkisis we can begin to understand their context and then begin to understand African culture as a whole.