65
FIG. 1 (LEFT):
Mini-nio mbo b y Makosa.
B wende, D R Congo. 19 30s (?). H: 6 3 cm. Collected b y th e missionary E. K arlman.
Accessioned by th e RMCA in 19 34, EO.0.0.35754.
Th e last B wende producer of nio mbo
¿ guratiYe funerar\ bundles made of fabriF Zas named 0akosa,
and h e created th em for many prestigious ch iefs. B ecause h e acted as an informant for missionaries
wh o were fascinated with eth nography, h e soon realized th e degree to wh ich E uropeans were
interested in th ese unusual funerary rites. B eginning in th e early twentieth century, h e made several
copies of nio mbo for th em. H is true genius lay in k nowing h ow to make faith ful replicas in miniature,
wh ich were easy to transport. H e ask ed a lot of money for th em.
nio mbo. As a
nio mbo funerary rites fell into disuse in th is
FIG. 3 (À GAUCHE) : V ue aux rayons X ( détail) du mini-nio mbo
en ¿ gure . Rpalispe en fpYrier Sar *. Cael 0R$C *estion des
collections et des données b iologiq ues).
Cette vision aux rayons X montre b ien q ue le corps de ce mini-nio mbo
ne contient aucun ossement. Ce constat b ouleverse l’h ypothè se parfois
défendue selon laquelle ces mini-nio mbo avaient localement un rô le de
reliq uaire.
FIG. 3 (LEFT): D etail of an X -ray of th e mini-nio mbo in ¿ g. .
Taken in )ebruar\ of b\ *. Cael R0C$ ColleFtion and %iologi
cal D ata Management S ervice).
Th is X -ray view sh ows th at th e b ody of th is mini-nio mbo contains no
b ones. Th is ob servation b elies th e sometimes-asserted hypoth esis th at
mini-nio mbo were a localized form of reliq uary.
FIG. 4 (CI-DESSUS) : OEuvre
de F uti D aniel réalisée dans les
années 195 0 initialement destinée
à ê tre vendue aux E uropéens
mais ¿ nalement utilispe dans un
contexte rituel local.
H. : 4 0 cm.
Collection M. L. F elix.
FIG. 4 (ABOVE): W ork s b y
F uti D aniel, made in th e 195 0s
and initially intended to b e
sold to E uropeans, eventually
came to b e used locally in a
ritual context.
H: 4 0 cm.
M. L. F elix Collection.
Makosa also h ad oth er reasons to focus on E uropeans. After h e converted to Ch ristianity in 189 3,
th e traditional auth orities in K ingoyi deb ated ab out wh eth er h e was still allowed to make
result, h e lost part of h is local clientele. At th e same time,
rapidly ch anging environment. B y working for E uropeans, Makosa was able to continue to utiliz e h is
talent and maintain h is reputation as an artist.