Pod lid from Cabinda, Angola (Woyo).

Gift from I.Mesmaekers. 1956.

 

This scene with a hand and a piece of palm tree refers to the proverb:

”An unrooted palm tree gets trampled”

Meaning: Someone without family or money is weaker.

 

AfricaMuseum (Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika), Tervuren Belgium.

Collectie nr EO.1956.88.12

Pod lid from Cabinda, Angola (Woyo)

Gift from I. Mesmaekers, 1956

 

Above the man in a tipoye (sedan chair) we see a wounded or crippled man walking with a stick. This is possibly an allusion to social injustice: the crippled man is on foot, while the healthy man is carried by servants.

(We don't know the symbolic meaning of the object in the middle).

 

AfricaMuseum (Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika), Tervuren Belgium.

Collectie nr. EO.1956.88.5

Pot lid from Muanda (Woyo). Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Gift from L.Bittremieux. 1932

 

This pot lid probably refers to the proverb: “He who tethers goats, will end up with a rope full of knots.”

 

Interpretation: Look before you leap, or: there will be problems if two people start getting in each other’s way.

 

AfricaMuseum (Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika), Tervuren Belgium. Collectie nr. EO.1932.33964