Rooftop finial (kishikishi)

The chief of Kisakanga, a Pende village now called Kisanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, commissioned this sculpture for the roof of his house in the 1960s or 1970s. The unusual finial in the shape of a Kipoko mask was a firm rebuttal of his subjects’ allegations of sorcery—defined as using spiritual help for selfish aims. In the Eastern Pende area, Kipoko is considered the most beautiful and the most powerful of all the masquerade personas. His dancing combines choreography that demonstrates courage, wisdom, eloquence, and leadership—all qualities of an effective chief. Kipoko’s kicking dance step activates spiritual help for the sick and infertile. By placing a sculpture of a Kipoko mask on his home, the chief asserted that he judiciously used his communication with the spiritual world only for the benefit of the community.

Most Pende rooftop finials at this time depicted a mother and child. In the 1940s, the artist Kaseya Tambwe Makumbi began carving figures of mothers holding infants on one hip and a sword in the opposite hand, a subject that quickly became the most popular choice for a chief’s home. The mother and child imagery alludes to a chief's responsibility to both nurture his people and zealously defend them from attack. This Kipoko finial spreads a similar message through an entirely different image, one that points to the owner’s proper use of spiritual power.