Crown and ritual
Subtitle: the royal insignia of Ngoyo
By: Zdenka Volavka ; introduction and conclusions by Colleen E. Kriger ; edited by Wendy A. Thomas.
Contributors: Thomas, Wendy A.
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Toronto; Buffalo
Language: eng; fre; por
Number of pages: 411
Subjects: Regalia (Insignia) -- Ngoyo (Kingdom); Ngoyo (Kingdom)
Description: One day, more than twenty years ago, Zdenka Volavka found a lost treasure: the investiture regalia of the African kingdom of Ngoyo, dating from the Iron Age of the second millennium. The plaited copper crown or mpu, turned upside-down and filled with a jumble of metal objects, was on display in the Musee de l'Homme in Paris, ignominiously labelled as a 'fishing basket.' These objects became the focus of Volavka's research in her remaining years, and form the subject of her book.

Combining extensive field work with ethnographic, historical, scientific, and linguistic analysis, Volavka reconfigures the nature of kingship and royal ritual in Ngoyo, uncovering the objects' true meaning and function, and reintegrating them into their original context. Detailed metallurgical analyses are included, along with a study of the role of copper in the lives of the peoples of the lower Zaire basin.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [367]-385) and index.