Standing female figure "biteki koshi"

Description

wood, reddish brown patina, red pigment, a crude carved body, small drilled holes in head, ears, forearms and between the legs (“cryptofetish”) for insertion of magical substances, slightly dam., cracks (backside), block-like base;
commemorative statues and ancestral figures like the present one are considered to be abodes for the invisible benevolent forces of the ancestors. They are used by healers, diviners and clan chiefs in rituals pertaining to the ancestral cult.