Kneeling female figure "niande" ·  Burkina Faso, Mossi · ID: 3039633

Description

wood, brown patina, kaolin, flat facial plane with banded tattos to both sides, short arms, the bulging belly of a pregnant woman accentuated by radial tattoos, slightly dam., crack backside, base;
“niande” figures, both male and female, represent royal ancestors and are displayed at annual ceremonies that occur at key points in the agricultural cycle. The very ownership of the figures confirms the chief’s right to rule. During funeral rites, which generally occur long after the actual burial, a figure may stand in for and represent the deceased chief. The figures are also important in ancestral ritual and sometimes accumulate a patina from substances offered as sacrifices to the ancestors, or from use in divination.

Comparing literature

Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, p. 84