TSOGO RELIQUARY GUARDIAN FIGURE, GABON
mbumba bwiti

Guardian reliquary figures like this are found throughout Gabon, yet the style of the figures and forms of receptacles may vary from one group to the other. Tsogo ancestral reliquary figures and heads are connected with the Bwiti men's initiation society.

Unlike the Fang reliquaries which are surmounted by guardian figures, Tsogo reliquaries are the figures themselves and contained the relics of the deceased within. A cavity in the elongated stomach of the Mbete figure has been hollowed out to serve as a receptacle.  In contrast, the lower part of the Tsogo figure, deliberately left unfinished, is concealed within a basket, called bumba bwiti , made of fiber or antelope skin.

This basket contains the various relics, including human and animal bones, brass rings, shells, coins, and jewelry. The basket is generally missing from Tsogo reliquaries seen in museums, as it was almost always carefully kept by the owner, whereas the figures taken away by Europeans could always be replaced. 

The white, reddish, and black colors found on such reliquaries have symbolic meanings: white often refers to the ancestral realm, red to life and beauty, and black to other cosmic principles that vary according to groups within the region.

This fine example measures 34“ tall and 5“ wide.