Standing female figure "jo nyeleni"

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Description

wood, rich slightly shiny dark and reddish brown patina, voluminous round shoulders and prominent breasts, big funnel-shaped ears, drilled pupils, probably once set with small metal or shell discs, the left foot inscribed backside: “AJP1115”, slightly dam., minor missing parts (ears, left hand), cracks (head), rep. (right foot), socle;
the “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 next accompanied by the sound of a special gong, called “mango”.

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Publications

Arts et peuples du Mali, Amiens 1994, ill. 95

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