A large African tribal art solid wood hand carving, a statue of an imposing standing Songye community power figure, protective ancestor spirit male Nkisi, from people of the Songye in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, in Central Africa, circa 1930s. Ancestral worship is very prevalent within Songye culture, it is believed that the spirit of their ancestors is more accessible to them due to their shared experience of being alive. As a result, these spirits connect to both the land of the living and the dead and can enact their will on the community.
