Tumba (Memorial Figure)

The Kongo place stone figures called tumba on the graves of powerful people. This chief is shown smoking a pipe with his head averted as if in a state of contemplation. His cap (mpu) with four leopard’s teeth, the beaded necklace, and the bracelet (nlunga) identify the individual as a chief. The term tumba comes from the old Portuguese word for “tomb”—this genre may have been inspired by grave monuments for European merchants and missionaries in Kongo cemeteries.