Set of 3 Vintage African Nkondi Nail Fetish Power Dog Figures

Unique set of three African hand-carved Nkondi/Nkisi nail fetish dog figures. Nkisi or Nkishi are spirits or an object that a spirit inhabits. It is frequently applied to a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa, especially in the Territory of Cabinda that are believed to contain spiritual powers or spirits. The primary function of a nkondi is to be the home of a spirit which can travel out from its base, hunt down and harm other people. Many nkondi were publicly held and were used to affirm oaths, or to protect villages and other locations from witches or evildoers. This is achieved by enlisting spiritual power through getting them to inhabit minkisi like nkondi and they are then activated by driving nails into them.

These items would make striking decorative objects or additions to a collection of ethnographic art.