Standing pair of figures "tugubele" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo · ID: 3034126

Description

wood, blackish brown patina, sacrificial traces, a male and a female figure, their bodies nearly identical in shape and posture, the female adorned with a string of cowrie snails, the male one with a cape, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion;
such small human figures belong to single persons, mainly soothsayers. They are indispensable for getting into contact with the “tugubele”, the small invisible and omnipresent bush spirits. The “tugubele” promise to help their human partners, when they are appreciated accordingly, which means that a figure has to be carved, representing them. Just like the bush spirits such figures are called “tugubele”.