Makonde Male Figure, Mozambique

Allan Stone, New York, 1980s or earlier

According to Zachary Kingdon (in Phillips 1995: 172, text to cat. 2.63), the "Mozambican Makonde mainly inhabit the high plateau in Cabo Delgado Province. Their traditional way of life was augmented by hunting expeditions into the game-rich lowlands. Most aspects of Makonde social life were organised according to a kinship system based on exogamous matrilineal clans. In pre-colonial times the Mozambican Makonde had no chiefs as such and leadership was held by clan elders and an authoritative clan ritual specialist ('medicine man' or humu; pl. vahumu). They had a well-developed ancestor cult in which clan ancestresses and prominent elders who died very old and full of knowledge of ntela (medicine) were venerated as minor divinties. [...]

"Wooden figurines called masinamu (sing. lisinamu) representing mythical clan ancestresses and deceased elders (now only to be found in museums) were apparently kept in the houses of village leaders and vahumu where they were probably associated with ancestor shrines. They were often painted and decorated with the Makonde raised tattoo marks."