Flute – Wood – Chokwe – DR Congo

Authentic wooden whistle from the Chokwe people of Former Belgian Congo. The flute has a wonderful aged patina.

Chokwe men use small whistles like this to communicate with one another and with their dogs while hunting. This whistle is decorated with the image of chikunza, a mukanda mask made of barkcloth over an armature of wicker, identifiable by its tall conical headdress. Mukanda is an institution found throughout much of Central Africa, responsible for transmitting religion, art, and social organization from generation to generation. The chikunza masquerade represents a stern, old man, recognized as the father of masks, the father of initiation, and the master of the mukanda lodge, where initiation events take place. Chikunza, as protector of hunters and of women in childbirth, is associated with goodness, plenty, success, and fertility.

Flutes were used across sub-Saharan Africa in as many different ways as their forms were varied: individually or in groups, e.g. as a signalling instrument, as a means of communication, for entertainment or ritually at initiations, weddings, births and funerals. In addition, they were status symbols, worn as jewellery and were an outward sign of the owner’s affiliation.

Provenance: former private collection from Germany.