Checks and Balances

Democratic Republic of the Congo; Luba artist

Chief’s staff

Wood, metal

H. 104 cm (41")

Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company, 81.17.874

A recurring misconception about African kingdoms is that power rests in the hands of a king, who sits at the summit of a political hierarchy. In fact, precolonial African political systems often were governed not by a single imperial center, but rather by a web of institutional and ideological arrangements and affiliations. These “circulating centers of power" included diverse officeholders such as court dignitaries and client chiefs; professionals such as diviners, spirit mediums, and healers; and institutions such as secret associations with particular functions.