Female protective figure "bateba phuwe" ·  Burkina Faso, Lobi · ID: 3046731

Description

wood, sacrificial traces, base

The Lobi believe that the universe was created by the god “tangba”, under which sit a number of deities and spirits called “thila”.

Villagers pray to “thila” to gain wealth, cure illnesses but more importantly, to protect themselves from witchcraft and harm.

For this, people need wooden carved figures “bateba”, which act as intermediaries between the human world and the spirit world of the “thila”. Once placed on an altar (be it a village altar or an individual household altar), the “bateba” figure becomes inhabited by the appropriate “thil” spirit.