Seated female figure "mami wata"

Togo, Ewe · 3037620

---

Description

heavy wood, polychrome paint, topless, holding a snake, sacrificial traces, min. dam., cracks, paint rubbed off;
probably a work of the carver Agbali Kossi (1930-1992).
“Mami wata” is often described as a mermaid-like figure, with a woman’s upper body (often nude) and the hindquarters of a fish or serpent. In other tales she is fully human in appearance (though never human). A large snake (symbol of divination and divinity) frequently accompanies her, wrapping itself around her and laying its head between her breasts.

---

Comparing literature

Chesi, Gert, Voodoo, München 1983, p. 284 f.

---