Whistle shaped like a wooden cross. Whistles were used in the hunt and as musical instruments. Music was a way of communicating with the unseen world, and was part of most rituals intended to invoke spirits.
Many of the Kongo people’s musical instruments therefore also served as magical power objects. Often the instruments were decorated with medicines and magical substances so their sound would better speak to the spirits in the world of the dead. Sometimes the whistles were part of a larger collection of objects for a particular religious cult. This whistle was probably worn around the neck on a string, and may also have been used as an amulet to provide protection and luck.
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