Bwété, reliquary guardian figure - Kota Mahongwé, Gabon - wood and copper

Important Bwété, reliquary guardian figure. Kota Mahongwé, Gabon. Wood covered with copper. On a black wood base. Height: 47cm (excluding base) Condition: Very good condition. *The Kota or Bakota (plural), as well as the Mahongwé, live in the east of Gabon and are renowned for their reliquaries. Initially, the Kota used to leave their dead exposed to the elements in the forest. Under the influence of neighbouring tribes, they began to bury their chiefs, then to exhume their bones (mainly the skull) to place them in bark boxes or baskets called bwété, on which a statue was placed. From these rarely complete wicker boxes or baskets, we mainly know the sculptures that topped them, intended to warn the forces of the invisible that could diminish the supernatural power of the relics. "Such reliquaries were entrusted to clan chiefs who kept them hidden, sometimes leveraging the power of the relics for the benefit of the clan. When serious crises affected the village (a village comprising several clans), the chiefs gathered their reliquaries to perform rites. This cult was known as bwiti by the Mahongwé and their neighbours, for whom the guardians constituted the "faces" of the bwété. Each image had its name and specific powers." Sources Musée Branly. During the major Bwiti ceremonies (bwett, bwété, mbulu-ngulu or mboy) of the clan, which only initiates attended, the reliquaries were brought out into the open. "Bwiti is an initiatory rite originating from the Mitsogo and Gapinzi populations of central Gabon. Its date of origin is undetermined but dates back beyond the 19th century. Bwiti is now widely practiced in Gabon, both among the populations of the south of the country and among the Fang of the north (diffusion around 1910 among the Fang), in both rural and urban settings.