Sitting female figure "jo nyeleni"
Description
heavy (“gwele”) wood, brown patina with traces of black paint, aluminium nails, mass with abrus beans on forearms and coiffure, overlong upper part of the body with angular shoulders and conical-shaped breasts, protruding face with incisions, projecting crest, slightly dam., missing parts through insect caused damage (face and right half of the body), rep. (right foot tip, presumably the right leg);
in the style of a workshop from the Malinke region.
“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”.