Ritual Container

Small pottery containers and figurines are among the ritual objects made throughout northeastern Tanzania for use in sacred practices, called ughanga, that are important in healing physical and psychological afflictions and misfortunes. Ughanga is, in fact, a multifaceted and adaptive institution that pervades much of society in northeastern Tanzania, and ughanga objects such as this receptacle hold medicines and in some cases embody spirits that can be called upon to aid in treatment. The medicines are made by traditional healers, called waghanga, who are expert herbalists and the keepers of cultural knowledge, history, and custom. They may administer their mixtures in a straightforward fashion or in conjunction with prayer, with the signing and dancing of spirit songs, and in ritual performances that unite all of these facets and allow the healer to engage with spirits and ancestors.
In this container, a basic template is given a more sophisticated, anthropomorphized form. The human head that completes the vessel has the long nose, crested coiffure, round ears, and piercing eyes that typify figures made by the Kisi or Pare. The black-bead eyes, in particular, likely indicate that the figure was associated with a particularly powerful category of spirits that are symbolized by the color black. [See also 2005.278].