BY MARIE TOLLON BRINGING THE MINKISI HOME
IT WAS UNEXPECTEDLY and on foreign land that Byb Bibene encountered a nkisi nkondi for the first time. During a visit at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris, where he was on tour in 2006, the Bay Area-based choreog- rapher was taken by the power of a wooden sacred statue, which he learned was a nkisi nkondi ( nkisi is loosely translated as ‘medi- cine’, nkondi as ‘hunter’) and originated from his native land, the Congo. He had never seen nor heard about it back home. Carved in wood, minkisi (plural of nkisi ) were found in the kingdom of Kongo, which was located in West central Africa, in what is now known as northern Angola, Cabi- nda, the Republic of the Congo, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the southern part of Gabon. The kingdom was mostly an independent state from the 14th to the 19th century, until it was broken apart by colonial Portugal, France and Belgium. Independence was re- instated in the 1960s, although by that time, years of foreign domination had caused dev- astating damages throughout the Congolese culture, politics and economics. In pre-colonial time, minkisi were power figures activated by a nganga or healer at the request of an individual, a family or a community to help with public or private matters such as sealing a contract, resolving a conflict, curing a disease or casting off evil spirits. The nganga would activate the nkisi by placing spiritually charged substances inside its hollows, thereby calling the divine spirits to inhabit it and offer their guidance. Minkisi came in various shapes, mainly anthropomorphic or zoomorphic figures, but also vessels or shells. The nkisi nkondi stands out among other minkisi , as one in which the nganga would insert and leave a sharp object – nail, blade, shard – for each request made to the spirits. Deemed as superstitious ‘fetishes’ by Christian missionaries, minkisi were for the most part destroyed during colonial times. Those that were spared were looted and later reappeared in private collections and museums, primarily in Western Europe and the United States. In addition, by imposing their language and education onto the native populations, colonists systematically eradi- cated traces of indigenous practices. This is why Bibene, although born and raised in the Republic of the Congo, never knew about minkisi . An economist by trade – he holds a BA in finance – Bibene only started to pursue dance as a formal study in college: “In Congo dance and music are part of everyday life. I grew up surrounded by traditional ethnic
Kiandada Dance Theater / photos by Jen Phillip
dances, social dances like rumba or ndom- bolo , as well as American hip-hop. But it was not until I went to college that dance and acting became a big part of my life,” Bibene shared. He started a company in Brazzaville, the country’s capital, and in 2005 it was se- lected to compete in a dance competition in Paris. He won two prizes and began to travel frequently, mostly in Europe and the United States, where he relocated in 2009. Encountering the nkisi nkondi in Paris fostered Bibene’s insatiable curiosity and planted the seed for his new work Nkisi Nkondi: A Divine Sculpture from Central Africa 1 , presented at ODC Theater in May, followed by performances at the Museum of the African Diaspora in June: “I became obsessed and started researching. It took me to revisiting the history and spirituality of my country before colonization.” Bibene began developing the piece two years ago, as part of his thesis for his MFA in Dance at Saint Mary’s College. It started as a duet with Congolese dancer Chris Babingui, before morphing into a quintet. The piece now includes twelve dancers, and live music by Colombian flutist Adriana Rueda as well
Still Standing AT THE HAAS-LILIENTHAL HOUSE J U LY 1 2 — A U G U S T 5
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Byb Bibene's Kiandada Dance Theater and ODC Theater present Nkisi Nkondi: A Di- vine Sculpture from Central Africa : May 17-18, ODC Theater, SF. odc.dance/kiandanda
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in dance MAY 2018
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