A female Senufo Rhythm pounder, (Deble), Ivory Coast, carved out of one piece of wood, she is standing on a cylindrical base, her knees slightly bent, a thin abdomen with protruding navel, she is characterized by a bent, supernaturally long arm, which would probably reach down to the knee if it were hanging down, while the right arm - in accordance with reality - ends at hip height and indicates a sacrificial ritual with a stylized rooster in its hand. The hand of this extended arm rests on the left breast at the level of the heart. What the figure is wearing on the left side of the hip cannot be seen exactly. Perhaps it is a knife that could correspond to the impending sacrifice of the rooster, which "comes from the heart". The importance of the arm with its hand "on the heart" is emphasized not only by its supernatural length but also by a series of bracelets that adorn the forearm, the face is finely carved, a small mouth at the end of a large jaw, elongated nose, half closed eyes and the hair is pulled back, the top of the head is mounted by a four legged animal, on the forehead and on the sides of the face are carved scarifications, symbol of beauty and statu. Even if the strong conical base indicates a funeral stomper - rhythm pounder/déblé - this figure probably has nothing to do with a funeral ceremony, but rather represents a sacrifice for female fertility. The patina on the handle is impressive, indicating long ritual use. 

“These large-scale statue are a very rare work of art among the Senufo, institutional style of professional sculpture, yet on some special occasions large works of art were commissioned by the male Poro society and also by their female counter equivalent society, the Tyekpa society. In the case of the Poro society, large statues of pairs were placed on public display near wooden shrines or shelters where the chosen society’s initiators gathered to celebrate and organize special events and funerals. The Poro society would commission statues such as this one to be carried and used in ritual processions or placed on the ground to serve as a focus point for the ceremonial dancers.
These statues might have also functioned as a large fetish figure or shrine-powered object to which ritual sacrifices were made on the statue. This type of sculpture was used in various ritual functions that would have taken place right before or after a Poro elder member died. The statue would have been carried by initiators of the Poro society who would visit the home of the deceased where sometimes the statue may have been placed beside the corpse of the deceased and covered in a shroud and shown to the public. The statue would then be carried in the funeral procession and accompanied the deceased to their burial place. There it was swung and pounded on the ground around the grave in a rhythmic manner in synchronized time to the music of the Poro society orchestra.
When the ceremony was complete and before nightfall, the grave was covered with soil as one of the Poro society’s members would perform the final gesture with the statue, leaping onto the grave and pounding the soil seven times. This pounding is to ensure that the spirit of the deceased person didn’t linger in the vicinity of the village compound.”

Source: Brauer Museum of Art.

sold

Height: 130 cm
Weight: 9,3 kg