Cleveland Museum of Art

Whistle

Date

late 1800s

Medium

Wood

Culture

Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo or Angola, Chokwe people, late 19th century

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Carved out of ivory or wood in a variety of shapes, Chokwe whistles often bear miniature, stylized renderings of masks. Cikunza, the "patron saint" of the boys' initiation into manhood, is depicted with a pointed extension imitating the horn of a road antelope, symbolizing the fertility spirit. Typically such whistles were used by men during the hunt to communicate with their co-hunters and to call their dogs. They were either worn attached to a string as a necklace or tied to a spear.

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