Ladder "wagem bilu" ("soul ladder")

Description

wood, traces of weathering, base

According to a religious belief of the Dogon people, the soul of the head of the clan is preserved inside a clay pot that is placed in a shrine, and small miniature ladders, such as this one, lean against the pot.

This is because when the head of the clan dies, his soul must be able to climb out of its clay pot – with the help of these ladders – so that it may successfully reach the afterlife and the world of its ancestors.