Head sculpture of the "dyo" - snake cult
Christie’s, Amsterdam, 11 December 2001, lot 435
Christine Valluet, Paris, France
Gérard Wahl-Boyer (1944-2014), Paris, France
AuctionArt - Rémy Le Fur & Associés, Paris-Drouot, “Succession Gérard Wahl dit Boyer”, 18 June 2019, Lot 121
Description
wood, pigments, base
According to records kept by the French colonial administrator Poupon (1918/19), the Kuyu were divided into two groups: the western group traditionally followed the teachings of the Panther, while the eastern Kuyu revered the serpent “djo” as their mythical ancestor.
The “dyo” ceremony was performed to reactivate the link between the Kuyus identity and their myth of origins. Using mime, songs and dances, skilful “staging” recalled how “dyo” the serpent created “ebongo” and “ebongo” created the “eouya”, who were already humans. During the “kébé kébé” dances, “diokou”, the father, and “ebotita”, the mother, appear - extraordinary intermediary entities, half snake, half human - the primordial couple of the Kuyu.
A.- M. Bénézech conducted very extensive studies on Kuyu head sculptures. She classifies a very similarly designed head, which also bears a crocodile on its head, as a “diokou”, the father or husband (Bénézech, 2021, pl. 31).
Comparing literature
Bénézech, Anne-Marie, Kuyu, Milan 2021, p. 29 ff. Anne-Marie Bénézech, "So-called Kuyu Carvings", in: African Arts, November 1988, Vol. XXII, No 1, p. 52-59 Anne-Marie Bénézech, "The deferred Discovery of Kuyu Art, in: Tribal Art Magazine, No 83, Spring 2017, p. 92-107Publications
"Afrique Noire, Sculptures des Collections Privées Suisses", La Chaux-de-Fonds1971, No. 70AHDRC: 0013306