| These highly abstract human figures made of wood, called ‘Yanda’, belong to the ‘Mani society’ of the Zande people, in northern Congo. They are ‘charged’ with magic powers by the head of the ‘Mani society’ and are believed to protect from illness, witchcraft and sterility, and to guarantee a lucky hunt. These ‘Yanda figures’ of the Zande people are regarded as a perfect example of the high degree of abstraction in so-called ‘primitive art’.
The figure has small red glass-beads around the neck and has two ear-rings of white and yellow beads.
The back of the figure has cracked
*Johannes Kaddatz was, among others, a close friend of Werner Fischer, Hans Himmelheber, Boris Kegel-Konietzko, Bernd Muhlack and Nils von der Heyde and spent many years in East and West Africa. |
