Seated female figure "mami wata" ·  Togo, Ewe · ID: 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.