This compelling Nkisi Nkondi figure is a nod to the ritualistic and cultural innings of the Kongo people. A Nkisi Nkondi (hunter) is considered the most powerful subtype of the Nkisi figures. Villagers turn to Nkisi Nkondi's to identify unknown culprits and in some cases to kill them. In order to incite the nkondi to action, nganga fortune tellers must invoke and provoke the spirit that resides in the figure. Gunpowder is first exploded in front of the figure to annoy it and spur action. Nails and metal blades are then hammered into the nkondi to make the spirit angry at the villager's enemy. The reflective glass in the eyes allows the Nkisi Nkondi to see into the spirit world and spy on its prey. The effect of the use of the Nkisi Nkondi took place via the nganga fortune teller.

Nkisi N'kondi figures are highly recognizable through an accumulation of pegs, blades, nails, or other sharp objects inserted into their surface. Medicinal combinations called bilongo are sometimes stored in the head of the figure but frequently in the belly of the figure, which is shielded by a piece of glass, mirror, or other reflective surface. The glass represents the ‘other world’ inhabited by the spirits of the dead, who can peer through and see potential enemies. Elements with a variety of purposes are contained within the bilongo. Seeds may be inserted to tell a spirit to replicate itself; mpemba or white soil deposits found near cemeteries represent and enlist support from the spiritual realm. Claws may incite the spirits to grasp something, while stones may activate the spirits to pelt enemies or protect one from being pelted.

The insertions are driven into the figure by the nganga and represent the mambu and the type or degree of severity of an issue can be suggested through the material itself. A peg may refer to a matter being ‘settled’ whereas a nail, deeply inserted, may represent a more serious offence such as murder. Prior to insertion, opposing parties or clients often lick the blades or nails, to seal the function or purpose of the nkisi through their saliva. If an oath is broken by one of the parties or evil befalls one of them, the nkisi nkondi will become activated to carry out its mission of destruction or divine protection.

The Kongo people believe there are innumerable spirits that dwell in nature. Occasionally one inhabits a human being and that person falls ill. In such a case, a healer (magician) must use a nkisi to "lure" the spirit from the human body into the fetish body. The exorcism commences with the patient being covered in red powder, the colour of the nkisi spirit, and then drinking a potion made of fetish ingredients. If all goes well, the spirit is expelled from the patient's body and fixed inside the nkisi. These remarkable statues are also used as protection and for oath-taking. When one is in use, nails or blades are driven into it to activate its spiritual energy. The nkisis are also referred to as "power figures", and each of the nails or iron blades hammered into them by patients undergoing an exorcism serves as proof of the statue's efficacy. Though an object such as a nkisi is very alien to Western culture, we can feel its authority and intensity, which may literally be from beyond the physical world.

The Kongo (or Bakongo) people live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and the Congo. By the end of the 15th century, the Kongo comprised a series of loosely-connected yet autonomous kingdoms, including Kongo, Ngoyo, Vungu and Kakongo, followed by the increasingly powerful Bakongo kingdom, Loango, at the start of the 16th century. This coincided with the arrival of the first Portuguese explorers, with whom they had a reasonably peaceful relationship for some time. The kingdom absorbed European traditions and religion without bloodshed, and, more importantly, with much of their indigenous culture intact. While matters deteriorated subsequently, partly due to wars with other tribal groups (notably the Yaka), the Kongo tribes have survived relatively well as cultural entities and have seen a resurgence since their independence in 1960.