Standing female figure

Description

light wood, brown patina, nine strings of dark blue miniature glass beads, incised scarification marks, adorned with carved necklace and bracelets, slightly dam., minor missing parts (coiffure, breast, foot tips), rep. (left arm), drilled holes backside, base;
belonging to the “bondo” women society of the Temne, which corresponds to the “sande” society of the Mende clans living farther to the south. The “bondo” organization is controlled by a hierarchy arranged in five grades: the highest rank is “soko”, who is wearing a red cloth, followed by a group of “digbas” with individual titles, then the “sampa”, the dancers with a red, mitre-like head crest, finally some helpmates in education and at last the so-called “chimpanzees” (“ta-wotho”), forming the lowest level within the education for “digba”. The initiation rite generally takes place every three to four years, in change with the initiation of young boys (“poro”). Some of the girls are only aged six, but in general they have an age of thirteen, because the initiation rite which extends over a whole year is looked upon as an important preparation for marriage as well.