Anthropomorphic monkey figure "amwin" or "amwin ba"
Gerd Hanebeck, Wuppertal, Germany
Description
wood, fabric loincloth, encrusted sacrificial patina and remains of fibre/animal hair/feathers, collection number “HC 272”, rep.
Usually this type of figures holds a container for offerings in its hands or sometimes a bowl is formed by its cupped hands. Present figure holds a disc-shaped object instead. Yet, offerings were not limited to the bowl, the whole body is often covered with remnants of sacrifices.
Eggs in general had a specific meaning for sacrifices, for the Baule ascribed to the egg the symbolic meaning of life in its earliest form, that is, of transformation and growth. Spitting a few mouthfuls of palm wine on the figure’s head or chest on the first day of the new moon should bring greater strength to an “amwin”. A mash of yams, eggs and palm oil (“mvoufou”) was offered to the statues in gratitude for a successful harvest.
The sacrifices were manifold and form a thick and crusty patina over time that is an essential and distinguishing feature of the bowl bearers.
Comparing literature
Claessens, Bruno, Baule Monkeys, Brussels 2016, p. 61 ff.Publications
Morigi, Paolo, Meisterwerke Altafrikanischer Kultur aus der Sammlung Casa Coray, Agnuzzo-Lugano 1968, ill. 46AHDRC: 0059702