A primitive and powerful example of the Songye peoples magic fetish statues from the Congo, central Africa. A carved wooden idol with a highly stylized face and form, accented with a tall antelope horn from the top of the head as well as a second smaller horn protruding from the belly. The idol shows plenty of age and wear and appears to be a very old example. Among the Songye ,a shaman or priest known as "nganga", would have endowed this carved figure with spiritual powers by inserting symbolic substances—animal, vegetable, and mineral—into its head and abdomen. Offerings to ancestral spirits who bestow fertility and provide protection against disease and misfortune were placed into the sculpture. A power figure of this size is typically owned communally by the members of a Songye village, who consult it regularly at public ceremonies.Measures 22 inches tall , 24 inches tall on professional style wooden base.

fair, eroded central cavity, decay, obvious age and wear.