EO.0.0.31663-4
Voorouderbeelden / Statues d’ancêtre / Ancestor statues. Marungu, Tanganyika, RD Congo. [Tabwa]. 19th century. Wood (Ficus mucuso), bushbuck horn, barkcloth, soil. War booty, seized by E. Storms in1884. Gift from widow of E. Storms. 1930. EO.0.0.31663-4.
Acquired during a violent period
The widow of the military man Emile Storms (1846-1918) gave the collections of her late husband to the museum in 1930. The collection contains various elements of Storms’ equipment, some documents and nearly 340 ethnographic objects. These ethnographic objects were acquired in the eastern part of DR Congo, while he was on an ‘exploratory mission’ for the Association Internationale Africaine that reached to the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The mission resulted in the creation of the Mpala station on May 10th 1883, where Storms was located for more than two years, up until his final departure from Congo in July 1885.
A symbol of victory
After the defeat of Lusinga, Storms’ most important opponent, the other chiefs submitted to his authority. Kansabala, for instance, did so by swearing his allegiance to the post that the Belgian military had established in Mpala. On December 15th 1884, a treaty of submission was signed between Storms and Kansawara’s representatives. A few weeks after this first submission, however, Storms and Kansaware had another conflict because the chief had partaken in the appointment of a successor for Lusinga, without informing Storms. Consequently, Kansawara’s village was destroyed on March 22nd 1885, while the chief found shelter with his allies. Storms wrote in his diary about how the loot was confiscated on March 27th 1885:
“From the village of Kansawara several festishes and sacred idols come to me. The latter do not portray gods like we do, they are not worshipped. In the chief’s huts, they usually symbolize their ancestors. They are placed in special small huts and every time the chief drinks pombé, they get their share.”
