Ceremonial sword, Hemba/Luba, D.R. Congo

[Marc M.]

Judging from the appearance of the masks, kifwebe, depicted on the handle and scabbard, I would say Songye rather than Luba. It is often difficult to attribute an object to a people, especially when use and design are so close. Interesting piece.

Best regards
Marc

[Pertinax]

Originally Posted by Marc M.

Judging from the appearance of the masks, kifwebe, depicted on the handle and scabbard, I would say Songye rather than Luba. It is often difficult to attribute an object to a people, especially when use and design are so close. Interesting piece.

Best regards
Marc

Hi Marc, thanks!

Yes, very similar to Songye.

You're right, Hemba and Songye's ancestors migrated from the Luba Empire, so they have a lot in common.

On the Hemba people, I found information on the Kabeja cult. There are figurines for Songye Janus Two Faced, but I have not found a description of the cult.

Regards, Yuri

[Pertinax]

Thanks to Mark's help, I am amending the identification of the sword.

The sword clearly belongs to the culture of the Songye people.

[drac2k]

Thank you for the vintage picture of the warrior.I always considered the shield that he has ,with the carving and face to be made for tourists, but it appears that I may have been wrong based on the photograph.

[Pertinax]

Originally Posted by drac2k

Thank you for the vintage picture of the warrior.I always considered the shield that he has ,with the carving and face to be made for tourists, but it appears that I may have been wrong based on the photograph.

Thanks to the forum, we have the opportunity to exchange information and gain new knowledge.

[Pertinax]

Cleaned and tidied up the sword. Here is the result:

[gp]

Originally Posted by Pertinax

Cleaned and tidied up the sword. Here is the result:

beautiful faces ! my compliment; very nicely cleaned !
Enclosed 2 pics from Kifwebe masks, the 2nd from the Brooklyn Museum