Standing male figure / puppet ·  Tanzania, Sukuma / Nyamwesi · ID: 3049374

Description

wood, pokerwork, pigment residues, the separately worked movable arms, formerly fastened by means of nails, are missing, base

These figures were carried by dancers and their limbs moved according to the corresponding devices.

Meurant (Jahn,1994, p. 225) already assumed that figures with movable limbs or genitals were called “(a)maleba”. An “ileba” is an object used to attract the attention of the audience. Bessire (2005) reports that the figures appeared in dance competitions, where the winners were those who could attract the largest crowd.

Comparing literature

Jahn, Jens (Hg.), Tanzania, München 1994, p. 225 Aimée Bessire: "At a Safe Distance: Sukuma Dance Figures and the Arousal of Spectacle", in: African Arts, Spring 2005