Standing female figure "jo nyeleni" ·  Mali, Bamana · ID: 3037536

Description

wood, middle brown patina, metal tags (eyes and decoration), the primary accent lying on the disproportionately oversized conical breasts (which surely should symbolize physical strength and fertility), slightly dam., minor missing parts (tips of breasts, plaits and right foot), rep. (breakage at the plaits right hand side (fixed by nail) and at the right arm) forehead and nose bridge as well as the right breast marked by insect caused damage;
at performances the “nyeleni” figures are either carried by the dancers or placed behind them on the ground as a kind of backdrop. “Nyeleni” are said to increase visual interest, punctuating the performance and attracting the audience’s attention. They are “things to look at”. In performance they are adorned with loincloths, jewelry, head ties, or other items borrowed from young women in the village.
The design of hairdo (in two lobes staggerered one after another) and face (narrow triangular flattened with T-shaped arranged eybrows and nose) referring to a workshop from the Segou region..

Comparing literature

Colleyn, Jean Paul (Hg.), Bamana, Zürich 2001, p. 65 f.