A Haitian Bizango statue of a male warrior with a sling in his hand, mixed media, 20th C.

H 147 cm

This fetish is part of a collection of effigies of warriors, angels, devils, fetishes, and crippled or mutilated warriors. The Bizango secret society is known for performing zombification rituals.

Ref.:
- ‘Les guerriers bizango. L’art d’une société secrete vaudoue en Haïti. Symbole de liberté et de justice’, Paris, 2011, p. 48: “Bizango is a secret society of the Voodoo cult in Haiti. It was founded in the earl 19th C. by African slaves who where fighting their freedom and independence. Originating in the high plateau region along the Artibonite river, the Bizango cult is essentially linked to the preservation of the traditions and values of the Haitian people. The Bizango warriors are their guardians. We therefore know next to nothing about these life-size warrior dolls, sometimes depicting an invalid amputee, limping, beaten up, deformed, and at other times a dark, imposing warrior carrying a gun, sword, knife, lance or shield. Portrayed either seated or standing, stuffed with cotton or straw and covered with fabric encrusted with wax and dust, occasionally sprouting hair, sporting horns, wings, chains, padlocks, ropes, bonds, handcuffs, or holding a bottle of rum, they are dressed in the red and black colours representative of Bizango society. The eyes, nose and mouth are often composed of mirror fragments, which are also found on the body. The reflections referencing the spirit world offer protection against the powers of evil.”
- The Marianne Lehmann Collection: was exhibited at the Vodou exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum of Geneva in 2007, followed by a traveling exhibition until 2013 at the Tropen Museum in Amsterdam, the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin, and the Ubersee Museum in Bremen. The collection then crossed the Atlantic to be presented at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, and finally, in late 2014, at the Field Museum in Chicago. Exhibition catalogue: ‘Vodou: An Art of Living’, Geneva, 2007.
- Purchase and exhibition of a Bizango by the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris in 2009.
- Exhibition and sale with catalogue: The Bizango Warriors from the Vibrations Gallery, late 2009.
- Exhibition in November 2014 at the Grand Palais in Paris.
- The exhibition "Zombies: Death Is Not the End" from October 8, 2024 to February 16, 2025 at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris.
- In May 2025: Sale of Bizango warriors at Paris Tribal by the Pablo Touchaleaume Gallery, from a private collection, purchased from the Vibrations Gallery in Paris.

Provenance:
- A private collection, New York, United States of America.
- Ex-collection Galerie Vibrations, Paris, France.