Coasts of Guinea-Bissau
Baga

Wood, metal, paint
Mid 20th Century
Height: 44 in
Other – Ritual Symbolism

This large rectangular anthropo-zoomorphic sculpture, distinguished by its massive proportions, features the composite face of the D’mba or Nimba (the Great Mother) shoulder headdress.  Displayed is a large nose evoking a bird’s beak, a long summit ridge, and horseshoe ears.  The arms without hands seem to support the jaw of the figure whose tubular mouth, revealing incisions marking the teeth, seems to emit a breath.    This sculpture spoke during joyous festivities and agricultural ceremonies.  According to Christopher D.  Roy (in “Art and Life in Africa,” p. 42), such statutes had a protective function. They were placed in thatched huts between the forest and the village, its presence ensured the fertility of the crops and human fertility. 

The Baga live along the coasts of Guinea-Bissau in areas of swamps flooded six months a year.  They believe in a creative god called Nagu, Maku, which they do not represent, and which is accompanied by a male spirit whose name is Somtup, represented by a large cage covered with raffia whose top is a bird’s head.  He is assisted by the female spirit A-Bol.