Figural carved dance staff "khuluor" · Burkina Faso, Lobi · ID: 3043800
not available anymore
Size
H: 63,5 cm
H: 25.0 inch
Description
wood, base
Figurative staffs were once carried in dance. Today the practice has all but ended. They also served as protective devices to insure safety when travelling outside the home or the village area. Beyond that safe zone, all is fraught with danger from alien “koteé” spirits. The carved figures are called “dàgol”, personal protective spirits to ward off malevolent spirits.
Comparing literature
Robbins, Warren M. & Nancy Ingram Nooter, African Art in American Collections, o.O. 1989, p. 564, ill. 1564