Standing female figure

Description

wood, greyish brown, partly blackish brown patina, traces of camwood powder and white pigment, disc-shaped flattened ears, projecting crested coiffure with incised patterns, skin scarification marks, slightly dam., missing parts through insect caused damage (left foot, foot tip on the right), cracks (right side of the head), metal plate;
Mumuye effigies have several functions. They reinforce the traditional power of the Elders and grant a priviledged status to the family group who ownes them. The most important function of these sculptures is to watch over the family enclosure and to protect its inhabitants as well as guests who are allowed to enter. The effigy, through the intermediary of the soothsayer or healer, intervenes in healing practices in times of sicknesses or epidemics. In the family context, they may also exercise a judicial function: the statue honors truth and frustrates the traps set by a liar or a thief.