Kozo nail
fetish. Nail fetishes were revered throughout the Kongo kingdom. The nkisi are manipulated by their owner or by a
specialist, known as the nganga, in order to
please the different spirits and forces that are believed to regulate the world. In order
to ‘activate’ these forces and provoke the nkisi,
the nganga insults it, sings or creates an
explosion in front of it, or may hammer a blade or a nail into its body. The fetish also served to seal agreements, to
restore health to the spirit or body, or to destroy an enemy or sorcerer through magic.
The present figure is a dog, called kozo fetish.
Among the Kongo, dogs are thought to be figures of mediation between the world of the
living and the world of the dead; dogs are said to have four eyes, the possibility thus to
see beyond that which is ordinarily visible.
Material: wood, nails, vegetable fiber, raffia, glass
Size: 22½”x 8”x 8½”
