This well patinated ivory figure was made by a master-carver of the Lega tribe, in what was once Zaire. It portrays a tall straight-backed male – or perhaps hermaphrodite – figure, with a round face, a long, pear-shaped body and each of the limbs divided into three sectorial elements. The rendering is paedomorphic (childlike) – the detailing and proportions recall those of a baby. The face is carved with coffee-bean eyes, a short nose under arched brows and a small, incised mouth. The face is angled upwards. The genitalia are both prominent and ambiguous, with what appear to be both male and female pudenda. This ambiguity is heightened by the figure’s breasts. The surface of the piece is heightened by a glossy patina.
The Lega people are amongst Africa’s best-known carvers and artists. Currently settled in the Kivu province of the eastern DRC, they believe themselves to be descended from an eponymous ancestor who migrated into the area from what is now Uganda. They are also known as Warega and Balega, based on corruptions of their actual name by neighbouring groups and Arab traders, respectively. They live in small villages and consider themselves parts of distinct lineages, although to outsiders the “Lega” group is a well-defined unit. They are further defined on the basis of their modes of subsistence. The western Lega settled in the forest (malinga), where they rely on hunting and gathering, while the eastern groups live on poor soils, further denuded by their mode of slash-and-burn agriculture.
Lega government is based along the lines of a gerontocracy; and balanced very finely between leading members of different lineages. The Lega believe in a trio of gods named Kinkunga, Kalaga and Kakinga, and that when humans die they will enter a subterranean afterworld known as Uchimu. Social life is structured by three main social institutions: family and kinship (ibuta), circumcision rituals (ibuta) and the Bwami society. Of these, the latter is perhaps the most powerful. It is centred upon the guidance of young people to moral maturity, although it also fulfils a range of other political socio-political, economic and artistic functions. Much of the paraphernalia produced by the Lega pertains to the workings of the Bwami society. Examples include initiation objects – that are sometimes ground away and the resulting dust used as a healing device – isengo (lit. “heavy things” used in healing), binumbi (publicly visible insignia), bingonzengonze (“things of play”) and the large category of sculpted objects/assemblages known as bitungwa. Within the latter there are numerous sub-categories along the lines of size, material, ownership and type. This applies to all manner of objects, especially kalimbangoma (figures). All members of the Bwami own one of these, which is usually cared for, oiled and kept by their wife. The higher the rank, the more impressive the figure. The highest standards – those in the ranks known as Yananio or Kindi – own ivory figures, of which this is a truly stunning example.
Western art history approaches have been unable to read the cultural implications of Lega pieces as most of these were removed from their highly-specific context without recording of data concerning their use, name and function. In general terms, Lega figures are used by members of the Bwami society, who commission the figure with a general description of how it should look (pose, material etc) but who leave the details to the carver. All figures tend to represent aspects of the ideal Lega male – a large forehead, a shaved head (sometimes with a cap) and a straight posture – and are endowed with the characteristics of a Bwami initiate: washed, shining and proud. Some figures are carved for the aesthetic of the ugly, used as cautionary tales for initiates. It is uncommon to be able to identify sculptures as representing specific people in Lega mythology or history.
Lega hermaphrodites are not dealt with in specific detail by standard works upon the subject. Despite considerable searching, no comparables have been uncovered. Other African societies consider hermaphrodites – presumably imagined rather than real, considering their genetic rarity – to be symbols of fertility and good fortune. Renderings of Lega genitalia are often ambiguous, or even absent. However, by and large such details seem of secondary importance to the Lega, whose artistic (Bwami) repertoire relies more heavily upon the elements of representation rather than subjects that would draw an immediate “fertility” description in most other cultures. It is therefore probable that it represents a character from the Lega lexicon, whose significance is yet to be understood. From our perspective, however, it is a striking and elegant work of art, and a worthy addition to any collection.
