|
Tribe Snapshots Kota |
| Location: |
Eastern Gabon |
| Population: |
75,000 |
| Language: |
Kota (equatorial Bantu) |
| Neighboring
Peoples: |
Kwele, Aduma, Fang |
| Types
of Art: |
The reliquary figures of the Kota may be distinguished
from their neighbors by the copper overlay on
them. Some masks are found in collections, but
these are extremely rare. Other utilitarian objects,
such as pots, baskets, stools, and knives were
often decorated with delicate patterns. |
| History: |
The Kota arrived in their current location after
completing a series of migrations that started
to the northeast, possibly near Sudan. These migrations
began in the 18th century and were underway when
European contact was first made about 150 years
later. Unlike the Fang, their neighbors to the
east, the Kota were a peaceful people who preferred
to pick up and move rather than engage in warfare.
European references dating to the 1870s identify
the Kota in their modern homeland. Christian missionaries
who entered the area in the early 1900s converted
many of the Kota peoples. As a result, many of
the art objects associated with their traditional
religion were destroyed, buried, or in some cases
thrown down wells. Since the 1930s efforts have
been made by Europeans to locate these discarded
objects, which have been divested of power, and
remove them to Western museums. Often the Kota
dig them up themselves and sell them for profit. |
| Economy: |
The rain forests which surround the Kota are
farmed with slash and burn techniques, combined
with crop rotation. By moving crops from year
to year, erosion and soil depletion is avoided.
The main crops grown are plantains and manioc.
Large knives are used to clear the forests, and
most of the cultivation is done with a hoe. |
| Political
Systems: |
The peoples throughout this region of Gabon
share similar political systems. Each village
has a leader who has inherited his position based
on his relationship to the founding family of
that village. As a political leader, he often
serves as an arbitrator and is equally recognized
as a ritual specialist. This enables him to justify
his position of power based on his relationship
with the ancestors of the village. Each village
consists of bark houses in arranged in a balanced
pattern along straight streets, and the size of
the village is often determined by the resources
available. |
| Religion: |
The traditional religion of Kota centered around
ancestors who are believed to wield power in the
afterlife as they had as living leaders of the
community. The skulls and long bones of these
men were believed to retain power and are said
to have control over the well-being of the family
of the relics' keepers. Usually the relics were
kept hidden away from the uninitiated and women.
Wooden sculptures covered with sheets of copper
and brass, known as reliquary or guardian figures,
were attached to the baskets containing the bones.
Some believe that the figures are an abstract
portrait of the deceased individual, while others
argue that they are merely to protect the spirit
of the deceased from evil. It must be remembered,
however, that it was the bones themselves that
were sacred, not the wooden figures, thus there
is no apparent contradiction to individuals selling
what in effect was the tombstone of their ancestors
for considerable profit to art dealers. During
migrations the relics were brought along, but
the reliquaries were often left behind. |
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