Yaka Wooden Ancestral Sculpture

This sculpture of an old man is a symbol for the wisdom of the ages. He is probably an effigy of an ancestor or village elder, holding his long beard with both hands, emphasizing the power of his ancient wisdom. A furrowed brow created by incisions above the nose reveal many years of contemplation and introspection.

The Kwango River area (southwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) is the home of some 300,000 highly artistic Yaka people. Yaka or yakala means “males,” “the strong ones,” thus Bayaka, “the strong people.” The Yaka society is organized into strong lineage group headed by elders and lineage headmen. The chief of the lineage had the power of life and death over lineage members. He was in charge of the cult of the ancestors and judiciary authority, and it was compulsory that he have large number of descendants.