Standing female figure "jo nyeleni"

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Description

wood, rich reddish brown patina with traces of black paint, eyes with bright-coloured inlay, diadem-like coiffure with side lobes, face and body abundantly adorned with linear scarification marks, drilled holes at the back of the head, dam. (nose), missing parts (both foot tips), socle;
“jo nyeleni” figures embody the spirits of the women who once founded the cult of “Jo”. They represent the ideal of a beautiful young woman. The figures appeared at big initiation festivities which only took place in a seven years turn. Mask figures called “yodenw” carried them from one village to the other, accompanied by the sound of a special gong, called “mango”.

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Comparing literature

Colleyn, Jean Paul (Hg.), Bamana, Zürich 2001, p. 143 ff.

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