Loango city on the Atlantic coast, in a 17th century print from
Olfert Dapper’s, Description de lÁfrique (French, German, and original 1665
Dutch editions are evident in the inscriptions). Founded in the 12th century as
one of a cluster of Equatorial African kingdoms, Loango was in full engagement
with Europeans and global trade by the 16th century. Scenes include: king's
palace; wives' compound; crier's tower; royal wine house; royal dining house;
public audience court; royal garden; and wives' garden.
The King of Loango, late 17th century
Description on picture: "The king hardly leaves his palace except
for solemn holidays, or for some event of great importance, such as receiving
ambassadors from foreign princes, to appease conflicts, to hunt a leopard which
has ravaged Loango . . . . He also appears on the first day that his own fields
are cultivated, and when his vassals bring their tribute and come to pay him
homage. They choose for this occasion a large place in the center of the city,
where they raise his throne. It is a seat of black and white wickerwork, covered
with mats that are embellished with rare objects" (Dapper, p. 330; our
translation).
The city of Loango, in modern-day Republic of Congo, was three
miles from the coast. In addition to the King's residence, Loango featured a
huge market where artisans, smiths, cap makers, potters, bead makers,
carpenters, vintners, fishermen, and canoe makers sold their wares.
Reference:
Decompiling Dapper: A Preliminary Search for Evidence (History in
Africa [1990], vol. 17, pp. 187-190). Source: D. O. Dapper, Description de
l'Afrique. Traduite du Flamand (Amsterdam, 1686; 1st ed., 1668), p. 331. (Copy
in the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University)
This 1786 engraving gives an exact description of their clothing .
. . their loincloth is made from 'macout' a local term meaning fabric made from
straw. With the advent of trade with Europeans, the loincloth came to be made of
various fabrics, including linen, cotton, silk, or even velvet. They are
excessively decorated with red coral, the ultimate luxury . . . Rich people wear
a long silver chain that fits low around their waist. But out of their apparel,
the most important is a fur pelt with groups of small bells that they wear near
their 'natural parts'; it is what they call their 'canda'. This means skin. This
part of their clothing is their seal of honor" (pp. 70-72; our translation).
The natives are known by the generic appellation of
Fiots, i.e. "Blacks", and belong to the
great Bantu family.
Sotheby's Auction
Location Paris
Double-headed dog
The power figure, Lot 102, is 36 1/4 inches long and has a modest
estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $114,000 including the buyer's
premium.
According to MacGaffey (1993: 42-43), in his research on a
double-headed dog figure in the collection of the British Museum 'Dogs have a
special place in Kongo thinking about the world of spirits. As domestic animals,
they are at home both in the village, land of the living, and in the forest,
home of the dead. Some say that on the way to the village of the dead a traveler
passes through a village of dogs . . . Dogs have "four eyes," two for this world
and two for the other; that is why Kozo sometimes has heads that face in two
directions. Dogs are also hunters. They held Nkondo, "the hunter," to track
witches.'
Power figures of this scale with highly imbedded surfaces served
socio-judicial functions. The figure is extensively imbedded with nails and
blades and has a hollowed square at the center of its back for the insertion of
magi materials, no longer extant. The piece was collected by Victor Ruffy, a
Swiss forestry engineer working in the Congo circa 1923.
Activated by the ceremonies of the nganga, or healer, each nail or
attached fiber served as a contract to end disputes or as a cure for illness.
