Male figure (one of a pair), c. 1890, 22 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 5 3/16 in. (57.2 x 14 x 13.2 cm), Wood, glass beads, cord, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 19th century, Pairs of male and female figures are important and rare objects among the Tabwa. They represent the ancestors of a particular Tabwa lineage and were kept in a special shrine by the lineage chief to honor them. This pair is distinguished by their quality of carving, their elaborate hairdos, and the pattern of scarification represented on their bodies. Scarification patterns were an important expression of religious, social and aesthetic principles of the Tabwa, as well as many other traditional tribal people of Africa. These facial scarifications emphasize the middle of the forehead between the eyes because that is where the Tabwa consider the spiritual center of a human being to reside. The central scarification line down the middle of the torso of each figure likewise represents the essential line of balance that exists in th