Congo Nkisi Nail Figures

As part of our unit on the Artist as Peacemaker, children looked at the role that nkisi nail figures play in keeping the peace in the Congo. Nkisi nail figures are made by the Bakongo people of the Congo. The nail figures are made by carvers and shamans. They are used for a variety of purposes. One purpose is to come to and seal agreements between people who are in a disagreement. The people will come to the shaman to settle an argument. The shaman consults the nkisi figure to come to a decision. The people agree and seal their agreement by pounding nails into the nkisi figure, as a promise to follow its wishes. The nkisi figure is thought to be connected to the spirit world and will bring bad luck to those who break the agreement.

After learning about the Congo Nkisi Figures, students made their own figural sculptures, and used them to seal agreements within the class. We also learned a little about Congo.

Try at Home Activities

Recipe

Food is a wonderful part of a culture. Each class we will give you a culture-specific recipe that you and your children can make at home. It’s fun trying food from all over the world.

Muamba Nsusu (Congo Chicken Soup)
One chicken, cut up large onion, chopped small can of tomato paste

½ cup natural peanut butter cayenne pepper, to taste palm oil rice

Boil chicken in a large pot of water. Remove the chicken from the pot and take the meat off of the bones. Save the broth. Saute onion in palm oil. Combine one cup of chicken broth, peanut butter, and tomato paste. Stir until smooth. Add the chicken meat to the broth mixture. Stir and simmer until thickened. Season to taste. Serve with cooked rice.

Craft

Fly Whisk from Congo. Fly whisks are used all over Africa, to help people keep cool and to swat irritating flies. They have grown to become symbols of authority and prestige. Chiefs often own whisks with highly decorated handles that denote their status. Fly whisks are made of various materials. The whisk itself can be made from horse hair, cow hair, feathers, or other natural materials. Handles are often carved from wood, made from leather or wire, beaded, or decorated in some other way.

Lingala Vocabulary
Hello mbote goodbye kende peace kimia

Resources
Online activities and resources

Congo Trek: National Geographic Online Adventure http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0109/adventures/

Congo flag and map coloring pages http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/print/democratic-republic-of-congo-coloring-page/Congo Art http://www.congo-pages.org/congoartnet/

Pictures of nail figures http://www.randafricanart.com/Bakongo_Nkondi_figure.html

Books

The Magic Tree: A Tale From the Congo, by Gerald McDermott

Song Of The Mermaid: and Other Folk Tales from the Congo by Angele Kadima-Nzuji Kabwasa

The Magic Flyswatter: A Superhero Tale of Africa, Retold from the Mwindo Epic by Aaron Shepard

Mother Leopard and Her Cubs: A Folk Story from the Democratic Republic of Congo, by Jill Rutter and Fiona Macintosh

Music

Bombenga and Vox Africa, Naluki yo Trop Elodie

Around Town

The Field Museum of Natural History has a nkisi in their Africa exhibit, along with an informative video about the use of the nkisi figure.

Tibetan Prayer Flags

Internal peace is a central theme in Tibetan art, where a main focus of the Tibetan Buddhist religion is to strive for peace with the universe (nirvana), free of anger and other afflictive states. Prayer flags are one form of Tibetan art that focus issues of peace. Prayer flags -- special flags that are block printed by Buddhist Masters with matras, prayers, and good luck symbols and words -- have been made in Tibet for thousands of years. They are planted to bring happiness and peace to those around. The flags are hung outside where they can blow in the wind. It is said that the wind carries the prayers out over the countryside and brings goodwill to everyone around. Prayer flags always come in groups of five, in colors symbolizing the five elements: yellow = earth; green = water; red = fire; white = air; and blue = space.

Global Explorers Kids has adapted the idea of Tibetan prayer flags, helping children to create "Flags of Peace." The children design images of peace for the world, then block print them on cloth flags. The children at Waters Elementary School printed their flags, then hung them in the school garden during a simple ceremony where they shared their thoughts on peace, then sampled some Asian snacks. The photo above shows some of their flags hanging in the garden.

Sand mandalas are another form of Tibetan art that focuses on internal peace. Mandala means circle, polygon, community, or connection in Sanskrit, the ancient language of India. Mandalas are special symmetric circles with geometric designs that represent the universe. They are used by Tibetan Buddhists as an aid to meditation. Mandalas made from sand are unique to Tibetan Buddhism. They are said to have positive healing energies, which extend to the whole world. After a sand mandala is completed, it is swept up and dispersed into flowing water – to symbolize the impermanence of life and further spread its healing energies. Students can explorer the idea of the mandala by creating geometric patterns within a circle, or try their hand at creating patterns with sand.

Tibetan Resources

Tibetan Vocabulary
Hello tashi delek goodbye kaley shu peace zhi bde

Online activities and resources
Video slideshow of Tibetan Prayer Flags http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aswb7RjBOTg&feature=relate
Online interactive Mandala http://www.permadi.com/java/spaint/spaint.html
Video – Global Grover in Tibet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMEvFdF-988
Greatest Places: Tibet http://www.greatestplaces.org/book_pages/tibet2.htm
Video slide show of Tibet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVavlr9MW0s&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUv8wDx7CaQ&feature=related
Video of creation of a sand mandala http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6b7iro-qZ4
Video of Tibetan monks chanting over sand mandala http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKE6GthLpX8
Tibetan folktales http://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/tft/index.htm

Books
The Mountains of Tibet, by Mordicai Gerstein
Favorite Children's Stories from China & Tibet, by Lotta Carswell Hume and Koon-Chiu Lo
Where is Tibet? by Gina Halpern
All The Way to Lhasa: A Tale from Tibet, by Barbara Helen Berger
Tibetan Tales for Little Buddhas, by Naomi C. Rose
The Boy Who Had a Dream: A Nomadic Folk Tale from Tibet, by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche and Pankaj Thapa
The Three Silver Coins: A Story from Tibet, by Veronica Leo, Tashi Daknewa
Tibet: The Land; Tibet: The People; Tibet: The Culture, three books by Bobbie Kalman

Music
Eternal Journey: Authentic Music from Tibet, Various Artists
Tibet Tibet, Yungchen Lhamo
Voice of Tibet, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
Tibetan Sacred Temple Music, Eight Lamas from Drepung

Around Town
Tibet Center Chicago, 6073 N. Paulina, Chicago, IL 60660, sometimes hosts special events.

Jamaica Project update

August 19-30, 2008, Global Explorers Kids Director Holly Hutto, and her daughter/student ambassador Angelina were in Treasure Beach, Jamaica volunteering at the VIJON (Volunteer in Jamaica Opportunity Network) summer art camp. Scheduled for 5 days, 5 hours a day, the last day of camp had to be canceled due to Tropical Storm Gustav which brought a day and a half of rain and wind to Treasure Beach - typically the driest area of Jamaica. About 20-25 children from Treasure Beach participated in the camp, which provided children with arts and crafts activities, sports and games, and one meal and snack a day. Coordinated by Stephanie Genus of VIJON, the camp is offered free to the children, many of whom come from low-income families. VIJON also provides the campers with school supplies, to help them offset the personal expense of school.

During the camp, Global Explorers Kids helped the children work on a collaborative project with children in Chicago. The children in Chicago and the children in Treasure Beach are each working on squares for a culture quilt - providing them an opportunity to share their cultures with each other via painting, fabric collage, photography, words, video, and more. Children and families participating in Global Explorers Kids summer camp donated pencils, paper, folders, and markers for the children in Treasure Beach, which were distributed to the children along with additional supplies that were donated to VIJON.

Work continues on the project as Global Explorers Kids edits the children's videos, prints their photographs, and works on sewing their quilt squares together. The project will be documented online and the finished quilt will be publicly displayed at a later date. Stay tuned for a personal account of the Jamaica trip from our 7-year-old student ambassador Angelina Kujaca-Hutto!