Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Burkina Faso
Senufo

Wood
Early-Mid 20th Century
Length: 66 inches
Idiophone – Struck Directly – Pounders

This is a Déblé, a wooden figure carved in the form of a woman by the Senufo people of Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Burkina Faso, and is used as a “rhythm pounder” in certain rituals performed to promote the fertility of the soil. Initiates of the Poro (or Lo) male secret society, performing their fertility dance, held the figures by the upper arms and pounded their heavy bases on the ground in unison to mark the rhythm. They also placed déblés in the fields during digging contests.

The head of this female shows the elongated skull that was achieved by binding in early childhood, a practice common to women prior to the 1950’s.  Her face shows geometric scaring patterns and the showing of her teeth. The arms serve as handles and the rotund belly sports geometric scarification patterns.  Each hand terminates into a hoeing tool such as a spade for tilling the soil.  Atop her head is a large circular disc with geometric patterns pointing in all four directions. She is mounted on a large circular base. The entire statute has been carved from one piece of wood that has been blackened.

Source: www.Britannica.com