Burkina Faso, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire
Senufo

Gourd, wood, fiber, hide, bamboo
Late 19th-Early 20th century
Length: 58 in; Width: 14 in; Depth: 20.5 in; Height w/stand: 54.5 in
Chordophone – Harp – Plucked

This bridge multi-string harp called korikaariye, comes from the Senufo people of  the Cote d’Ivoire.  It is used by the Senufo Sando diviners in consultation with the spirit world and plays a central role in divinations to helps achieve a state of extrasensory transcendence. Women of the Sandogo divination society possess the power to both regulate the conflicting worlds of men and women, and to appease the bush spirits who are a danger to the village. The top of the bridge portrays a female figure, possibly representing a bush spirit and refers to the powers of divination.