African Art Voodoo Idol in Terracotta Cult Mamiwata

Description: Ref: tc-126Height 26.5 CMProduct Description Mamiwata cult terracotta voodoo idol. Original piece over 50 years old. African mythologies. Mamiwata, Mother of Waters MamiWata comes from "Mother water", quickly transformed into "Mommy Water", then into "Mammy water", and finally into "MamiWata". Mamiwata is the Mother of the waters, half-woman, half-fish, half-terrestrial, half-aquatic, goddess of worship vodun in Togo and Benin, water spirit feared by the fishermen of Nigeria and Ghana, a man-eater who wanders in the African night in the guise of a ghost, patron saint of prostitutes in Kinshasa. Mamiwata is a deity who is the object of as many cults as there are followers. Heroine of lake tales and urban legends, she covers as many symbols as cultures, and embodies as many virtues as hopes, as many curses as fears. This mermaid is one of the rare deities in African mythology to be represented, pictorially speaking, in recurring features and form. The Gods of the Yoruba pantheon are almost the only ones to have effigies and human representations. Let us remember that one of the characteristics of African spirituality is its ability to “animate” objects and beings belonging to the animal, plant or mineral world, by recognizing in them a soul and an existence of their own. But also by investing them with powers and symbols, allowing men to communicate with the “invisible” world, that of the dead and spirits. The myths of origins, of creation, of cosmogony, which make it possible to explain the origin, the essence and the meaning of the world, are symbolized, among most African peoples, by natural elements such as water, earth or fire, by animal totems embodying the primordial being, by ancestral, heroic or legendary figures. The majority of the elements that make up their spiritual universe are therefore already in nature, they are nature itself. Mamiwata, in addition to being a hybrid being, is a foreign deity. Foreign to men and foreign to nature. It is a supernatural creature, because it embodies the intersection of three worlds: animal, human and spiritual. This hybridity, which is in fact a deformity, because it makes Mamiwata a “monster”, paradoxically gives him all his powers. Mamiwata is also the only African divinity, venerated or known in a geographical area bringing together cultures and peoples as diverse as the Ibo of Nigeria, the Ewé of Benin, the Bamiléké of Cameroon and the Kongo of the DRC. Although she is the object of different cults and is attached to very specific symbols depending on ethnic groups, beliefs, but also social circles, we can say that Mamiwata is a “Pan-African” goddess. Based on the “coastal” location of the countries where the cult of Mamiwata is most widespread, namely the Gulf of Guinea, for Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and Togo, and Central Africa for Cameroon and the DRC, some researchers have come to the conclusion that Mamiwata, in its modern representation, first appeared in Africa in the 15th century, when Europeans approached the coasts of the black continent. The mermaid would have been introduced to Africa, both through the stories of European sailors, but also through the figureheads of their ships, who very often represented this fabulous creature. In the mid-19th century, another image, entitled "the snake charmer", inspired by Hindu goddesses, was taken to Africa. It circulated widely in West Africa, where it was perceived as a mystical painting, by its strangeness, by the power and beauty of the female figure, whose features resembled those of an African. In addition, the snake theme was consistent with African beliefs about this sacred animal. It is more likely that these images and stories influenced the figurative representation of Mamiwata, by giving him a “human” face and characters, but they did not invent it. Africans have only appropriated these external elements, they have reinvented them in order to better integrate them into already existing beliefs. Aquatic or lake deities were already very numerous, in West Africa as in Central Africa. In the Ibo culture of Nigeria, the ndi mmili, water spirits, were revered, while in the Kongo civilization, these spirits were called mbumba, and often referred to a large mythical serpent. The divinity Mamiwata was integrated into the pantheon of pre-existing vodun gods on the basis of one or more water deities, but especially through the Dan cult of the royal python, practiced by the Mina, the Ewé, the Adja , the Fon, the Yoruba and the Ibo. The Vodun religion having crossed the Atlantic with African slaves during nearly four centuries of trade, the mermaid Mamiwata is also very present in certain cults of the black diaspora. In particular those of Candomblé in Brazil, where it bears the name Yemanja, and those of Santeria in Cuba, where the descendants of African slaves baptized it Yemoya. Mamiwata is therefore a subtle combination of African beliefs and both European and Indian imagery. The “foreign” aspect of Mamiwata has always been strongly emphasized in its pictorial representation, as a symbol of the cultural upheavals brought about by the slave trade and European colonization. Mamiwata, as an allegory of colonial power and violence, symbolizes the negative influence of the outside world on African values. The goddess comes from the world of waters, seas, oceans through which came the first Portuguese, then Dutch, English and French ships, which took millions of slaves to the Americas, and imposed their political, economic and cultural. Although his physical representation and symbolism vary between cultures, in his most common representation, everything about Mamiwata is reminiscent of the white man of the colonial and contemporary periods. Her physical characteristics are those of a European (white skin and long hair), as are her temperament (authoritarian, selfish, vain with a strong feeling of superiority), her morals (free, amoral and individualistic) and her powers. (linked to money, external signs of wealth and economic success). But despite all this syncretism, this mixture of influences and symbolisms, Mamiwata is indeed an African divinity. For many, it is an allegory, a projection of sexual desires, economic difficulties, hopes of social advancement. Its hybridity and its “monstrosity” reflect above all the dismay of African societies in the face of their own mutations, between tradition and modernity, between authenticity and alienation. In central African countries, such as Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo for example, this divinity or rather his spirit, appears in the heart of large cities, preferably at nightfall. It is also very present in the markets, another allegory of the invisible world, which by their affluence attract the lust of ghosts and evil spirits. Mamiwata appears mainly in bars and places of debauchery, always in the guise of a very beautiful woman who leads men into madness. In Congolese folklore, Mamiwata is a prostitute who tempts and perverts men. It symbolizes all the excesses linked to sexuality: polygamy, infidelity, but above all AIDS. The myth of Mamiwata is far from being fixed. It is nourished every day by the new symbols given to it by those who appropriate it. Like all myths, Mamiwata has the function of embodying a positive or negative worldview. Whether it is a spiritual landmark or a scapegoat, it constitutes a mode of expression of the dreams and fears that the uncertainties of the modern world arouse in Africa.African art, African maskItem delivered with an invoice and a certificate of authenticity.Based on the “coastal” location of the countries where the cult of Mamiwata is most widespread, namely the Gulf of Guinea, for Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and Togo, and Central Africa for Cameroon and the DRC, some researchers have come to the conclusion that Mamiwata, in its modern representation, first appeared in Africa in the 15th century, when Europeans approached the coasts of the black continent. The mermaid would have been introduced to Africa, both through the stories of European sailors, but also through the figureheads of their ships, who very often represented this fabulous creature. In the mid-19th century, another image, entitled "the snake charmer", inspired by Hindu goddesses, was taken to Africa. It circulated widely in West Africa, where it was perceived as a mystical painting,

Price: 1027.82 USD

Location: Bastia

End Time: 2025-01-31T01:11:11.000Z

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