The Suku, also known as the Basuku, are located in southwestern Congo (Zaire) and northwestern Angola, Africa. Their population is around 80,000 people. They speak Bantu, one of the Niger-Congo languages. Tribes that neighbor them are the Yaka, Teke, Nkanu.
Although the Suku are matrilineal, with descent in the female line, the son will live in an area near his father. The Suku women cultivate crops while the men primarily hunt. Popular crops are cassava (yucca), yams, manioc, groundnuts, and palm trees, which provide the Suku with palm oil that is used for local and international trade.
The political system of the Suku consists of a king who delegates power to regional chiefs who delegate power to local chiefs. Local chiefs are direct descendants of the original land owner. Ritual specialists and diviners that display prominence through their healing powers are aloud to state their opinion on political decisions.
There are no religious practices that pay homage to their god Ndzambyaphuungu, the creator that inhabits the sky. Rather, religious activities are for honoring elders and ancestors. The ceremony for a death of an elder is performed by other elders and is called a Bambuta. The Bambuta is off limits to women and all outsiders and is performed in a forest clearing.
Various wooden sculptures are the types of arts that come from the Suku. The wooden sculptures represent religion, magical figures, masks for ceremonies, to everyday items such as cups or combs. Carved masks are commonly used by the initiation societies for ceremonies such as a circumcision ritual. The circumcision ritual represents a boys transition into adult status that takes several months in bush camps to perform. The Kakuungu masks, part of the Hemba collection of masks, are worn by initiates who haunt the circumcision camp. Their jobs are to frighten women and young children away from the ceremony. The Ndeemba and Tsekedye masks may be worn by the newly circumcised individual during dances that are held after the camp has been destroyed. The initiates burn the curved noses off the masks along with the camp ridge-pole so the ashes can be used as charm during the next ritual.
Bibliography:
“Art & Life in Africa.” http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Suku.html Revised: 3 November 1998 accessed: 4 April 2001
“Ritual Messengers.” The Royal Museum of Central Africa. 9 December 1998.
http://www.civilization.ca/members/traditio/tervuren/teb04be.html 18 April 2001.
“Suku” Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999-2000. http://www.britannica.com/seo/s/suku/ 9 April 2001.
By Julie Siebring