The Holo reside in southwestern Congo on either side of the border with Angola. They have a matrilineal organisation and are traditionally ruled by a queen. Belonging to the the rich artistic heritage of the Holo, alongside masks and carved quotidian and prestige objects, are also such hand held slit drums, locally known by the name of ‘Ngokongombo’. They consist of a cylindrical resonance corpus with a rectangular slit. Carved out from the same piece the hilt is always in the form of a head sculpture. These slit drums are played with a rod by ‘beating’ the hollow resonance corpus right on the side of the slit. However, these are not profane instruments for music or dance, but serves exclusively as ‘sacred’ ritual objects: ‘beaten’ by the ‘priests’, clairvoyants or healers of the Holo at ceremonies and divinations with the aim of invoking the relevant protective spirits. The present Holo slit drum has been very attentively carved from reddish-brown hard wood. Especially persuasive is the fine, serene and well-proportioned female head with its three-comb hairstyle dyed black, with its long thin nose and its small mouth. For adornment the ‘lady’ wears small chains of light glass pearls on both ears. Overall a typical, proportionate object, with only minor age damage (two small tears - one up, one down - on the resonance corpus. Remnants of a previous colouration in red (using powdered redwood) and a shiny overall usage patina. Height: 34 cm; Diameter: 9 cm (below). First half of the 20th century. (ME)

Provenance:
Austrian Collection.

Lit.:
'100 Peoples of Zaire and their sculpture' by Marc L. Felix, ill. p. 37.