Standing figure "bateba phuwe" ·  Burkina Faso, Lobi · ID: 3032666

Description

wood, greyish brown patina, sacrificial traces, closed contours, slightly asymmetrical stature and facial features, crowned by a “phisa” coiffure, min. dam., fissures, minor missing parts, on metal plate;
the Lobi differentiate between four types of “bateba” protective figures: “bateba phuwe” (the so-called “ordinary bateba”), “bateba bambar” (“paralyzed bateba”), “bateba ti puo” (“dangerous persons”) and “bateba ti bala” (“the extraordinary persons”). Present figure belongs to the type of “ordinary bateba”, because it shows no special gesture or any physiological symptom.