Standing female figure "jo nyeleni"
Monica Wengraf, London, Great Britain
Description
wood, shiny reddish brown patina, traces of black paint, characteristic accentuation of the breasts, facial features disregarded (marked by incised asymmetrical lines), rich scarification marks in form of jagged bands, slightly dam., rep. (breakages at the base, possibly at the right wrist);
a very similar figure was published by the Museum for Modern Art, New York, 1935 (repr. 1966, pl. 4). The exhibition was arranged by James J. Sweeney and presented african works of carving within the USA for the first time as objets d’art and not as ethnographic objects.
“Jo nyeleni” figures depict the ideal of a young woman in the prime of life. They are used in a seven years term on the occasion of initiation celebrations of the “jo society”. Within a space of six or seven months the initiates (= “jodenw”) pass through seven strictly fixed levels. The “jo nyeleni” belong to the sixth step, “jo yaala” - the so-called “jo promenade”, at which the “jodenw” carry the figures from village to village, visit their brothers and sisters, venerate the graves of priests and those of “jodenw” who already have passed away, along the way they entertain the audience with music. They mainly use the “mango”, a percussion instrument (kind of a gong). The last sacred act is “kanyènkwo” - “the removal of dust”, which means ritual washing and subsequent anointment with oil. Finally the novices are affiliated in the society of the adults, they have gained the status of “jocèw” - “men of the jo”.