Standing female figure "bateba phuwe" ·  Burkina Faso, Lobi · ID: 3033354

Description

wood, shiny middle brown patina, rising from long legs, supporting a stocky body with bulging abdomen and accentuated navel, an oval head with heart-shaped deepened facial plane, visible teeth and cap-like headgear, min. dam., missing part (left foot tip), fissures, on wooden base;
the Lobi differentiate between four types of “bateba” protective figures: “bateba phuwe” (the so-called “ordinary bateba”), “bateba bambar” (“paralyzed bateba”), “bateba ti puo” (“dangerous persons”) and “bateba ti bala” (“the extraordinary persons”). Present figure belongs to the type of “ordinary bateba”, because it shows no special gesture or any physiological symptom.

Comparing literature

Bognolo, Daniela, Lobi, Mailand 2007, ill.7