Nkisi N'Kondi, the Central African power figures are among the ubiquitous genres identified with African art. These sculptures came into being through a gradual process that involved several specialists in the Kongo community. Conceived to house specific mystical forces, they were collaborative creations of Kongo sculptors and ritual specialists. First, a sculptor constructed the figure as an empty receptacle. A second specialist, known as the nganga, then “empowered” the vessel by inserting bilongo (medicines composed of a secret combination of animal, plant, and mineral substances) into key locations to create the power figure, or nkisi. A nkisi with its body packed full of hardware (known as a nkisi nkondi) was employed in ceremonies conducted by the nganga for the benefit of society, maintaining law and order by punishing those who disturbed the life of the community. Each piece of metal served as a permanent, material record of an event as well as a deterrent to future crimes. The Yombe people of Congo and Angola are a Bantu ethnic group of Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. Popular figures of the Yombe include the Nkisi N'Kondi and female phemba statues.