Luba divination pestle, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Divination Pestle with human head
DRC, Luba-Shankadi
19th century
H. 24 cm

This divination pestle, with a flared base, is sculpted from a single piece of wood. The top end is adorned with a human head featuring an elaborate hairstyle composed of three semicircular buns and an additional cylindrical one. A perforation at the top of the head was intended to hold a magical charge.

Excerpt from François Neyt, 1993, Luba aux sources du Zaïre:

"In the western region of Luba territory, among the Kalundwe groups and in the Kanyok kingdom, diviners use a pestle carved from wood, with a flared base wrapped in an animal skin pouch also containing soil. The upper end of the pestle is decorated with a human head with closed eyes.

These divination objects, used to grind white clay, or kaolin, are called Lubuko. This name is actually a metonymy. The diviner is referred to as mubuki, derived from the same root, while kilumbu (from the root lumbo, meaning to plead for, to advocate) designates a person who has reached a degree of knowledge (bulumbu) within the hierarchy of initiation. This level of 'liberation' allows them to communicate with spirits, on whose behalf they advocate for the living."