Staff for a champion cultivator "tefalipica"
Description
wood, rich black patina, shiny and matt, encrusted in some areas, crowned by a sitting female figure, wearing fine ornament, proud and upright in bearing, supporting a vessel on the head, two drilled holes at the back of the head, slightly dam., cracks (hips/seat), rep. in two places (rim of the receptacle), base;
the sculpted figure always represents a “pitya” - a young unmarried woman at the peak of her physical beauty. “Te-fali-pitya” means “hoe-work-girl”.
From dawn to dusk throughout the cultivating season, teams of young men swing their iron hoes to the rhythms of drums and xylophones, as proud staff bearers follow behind the competing champions of each team. Through the use of sculpture, orchestra, song and dance, hoeing contests transform grinding labor into ritual. The staffs are held in trust by champion cultivators in each succeeding generation of “poro” age sets, and a staff genealogy may name a dozen or more titleholders. Such champions may be said to achieve a degree of immortality, because they are paid homage as ancestral champions of their kinship unit. A more temporal reward is that champion cultivators are said to stand the best chance of their elders arranging marriage with the loveliest and most personable girls in the area. When a man or woman of the kin group dies, the staff is placed on display outside the house where the body lies, the staff is a sculptural honour guard.
Comparing literature
Vogel, Susan, For spirits and kings, African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, New York 1981, p. 48 f.Publications
AHDRC: 0125846