Standing male figure

Description

wood, slightly encrusted brown patina, scarification marks in the area of the chest and the cheeks, dam., missing parts through insect caused damage (lower legs, area of the head and the chest), slight traces of abrasion, base;
the Montol live to the north of the Benue and south of the Jos Plateau in a very rugged terrain. Their statues were kept in little round stone houses with a thatched roof (“dodo”) formerly decorated with trophy skulls. These houses were reserved for purposes of worship, out of sight of women and children. They were used to pass sentence after due deliberation, and were also employed in divination rituals organized to find the cause of an illness or to find a cure. The figures belong to a secret male society called “komtin”. The same society is found among the neighbouring Goemai with the name “kwompten”. The activities of this society seem primarily involved in curing rites and herbalism. After a successful cure the patient must furnish the society with a goat and millet for sacrifice and for a feast. The society has songs and dances celebrating the cure.
According to present research, Montol figures exhibit two stylistic conceptions: one involves a squat, chunky system of proportions, with geometrical forms clearly demarcated in terms of precise geometrical shapes. The second approach encompasses more elegant figures with modulated transition between body parts (Rubin). Present figure is carved in the chunkier of the two styles.