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Picture No 11035158
Date 1915
Description An idol from the Congo with nails and knives driven into it
Details

An idol from the Congo with knives and nails driven in to it. The wooden idol, from the region north of the Lower Congo (Chiloango River), is from the British Museum and is covered in knives and nails knocked into it by worshippers. Known as Mangaka, its aid was sought by men who had suffered from theft, accident, sickness, or misfortune. The victim, on payment of a fee, was permitted to drive a nail or knife blade into the figure to call the attention of the supernatural power, which the figure represents. Figure featured in a double page spread in The Illustrated London News comparing this practice to similar actions upon German statues during the First World War, particularly that of Hindenburg in Berlin. German people paid to knock nails into his effigy and other popular heroes.
Source Unattributed photograph in The Illustrated London News, 25 December 1915
Credit © Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans
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