Figure with raised arms ·  Mali, Tellem · ID: 3053586

Description

wood, entirely coated with thick incrustations of sacrificial matter,

The raised arms of Tellem figures have been interpreted both as a gesture of supplication for rain and in relation to the cosmogonic myth of Nommo’s sacrifice and resurrection. For figures with raised arms and joined hands, de Grunne and Déhan cite the interpretation that Nommo is asking the hidden creator god Amma to reveal himself (cf. de Grunne & Déhan 2023, pp. 37f).

Comparing literature

de Grunne & Emmanuel Déhan, Pré-Dogon, Toloy, Tellem, Brussels 2023, pp. 37f

Publications

Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, Munich 2009, p. 194