Figural carved staff "tefalapica" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo · ID: 3037070

Description

wood, shiny blackish brown patina, round staff, tapering to the end, a sickle-shaped projection on top, surmounted by a standing male figure, rep., min. dam., minor missing parts, slight traces of abrasion, fine cracks, on base;
“tefalapica” means “the girl of the man working with the hoe” and presents the trophy money in a kind of hoeing competition. In September and October the young men of the Senufo have to cultivate the new yams fields, an exhausting field work, organized as a kind of competition.

Comparing literature

Förster, Till, Die Kunst der Senufo aus Schweizer Sammlungen, Zürich 1988, p. 19