Location: |
Eastern Gabon |
Population: |
75,000 |
Language: |
Kota (equatorial Bantu) |
Neighboring Peoples: |
Kwele, Aduma, Fang |
Types of Art: |
The reliquary figures of the Kota may be distinguished from their
neighbors by the copper overlay on them. Some masks are found in
collections, but these are extremely rare. Other utilitarian objects, such
as pots, baskets, stools, and knives were often decorated with delicate
patterns. |
History: |
The Kota arrived in their current location after completing a series
of migrations that started to the northeast, possibly near Sudan. These
migrations began in the 18th century and were underway when European
contact was first made about 150 years later. Unlike the Fang, their
neighbors to the east, the Kota were a peaceful people who preferred to
pick up and move rather than engage in warfare. European references dating
to the 1870s identify the Kota in their modern homeland. Christian
missionaries who entered the area in the early 1900s converted many of the
Kota peoples. As a result, many of the art objects associated with their
traditional religion were destroyed, buried, or in some cases thrown down
wells. Since the 1930s efforts have been made by Europeans to locate these
discarded objects, which have been divested of power, and remove them to
Western museums. Often the Kota dig them up themselves and sell them for
profit. |
Economy: |
The rain forests which surround the Kota are farmed with slash and
burn techniques, combined with crop rotation. By moving crops from year to
year, erosion and soil depletion is avoided. The main crops grown are
plantains and manioc. Large knives are used to clear the forests, and most
of the cultivation is done with a hoe. |
Political Systems: |
The peoples throughout this region of Gabon share similar political
systems. Each village has a leader who has inherited his position based on
his relationship to the founding family of that village. As a political
leader, he often serves as an arbitrator and is equally recognized as a
ritual specialist. This enables him to justify his position of power based
on his relationship with the ancestors of the village. Each village
consists of bark houses in arranged in a balanced pattern along straight
streets, and the size of the village is often determined by the resources
available. |
Religion: |
The traditional religion of Kota centered around ancestors who are
believed to wield power in the afterlife as they had as living leaders of
the community. The skulls and long bones of these men were believed to
retain power and are said to have control over the well-being of the
family of the relics' keepers. Usually the relics were kept hidden away
from the uninitiated and women. Wooden sculptures covered with sheets of
copper and brass, known as reliquary or guardian figures, were attached to
the baskets containing the bones. Some believe that the figures are an
abstract portrait of the deceased individual, while others argue that they
are merely to protect the spirit of the deceased from evil. It must be
remembered, however, that it was the bones themselves that were sacred,
not the wooden figures, thus there is no apparent contradiction to
individuals selling what in effect was the tombstone of their ancestors
for considerable profit to art dealers. During migrations the relics were
brought along, but the reliquaries were often left
behind. |