Tribal Art

Boli Fetish (N° 24477)

Named boli ( pl. boliw ), buffalo, in African art, this fetish of variable size plays a major role in the ritual life of the Mandinka region . There are pocket "Boliw", others belong to chiefdoms, initiation societies, such as the male initiation associations Kono and Komo whose members progress through a process spanning several decades, and even to states.
Used as altars or performed during dance performances, they are designed from revelations granted to the spirits of the bush and transmitted to the diviners, using active amalgams coming from nature and, or organic: daliluw. These materials are aggregated around an inner frame of bamboo wrapped in a white cotton cloth, then coated with layers of mud and clay, and on their surfaces accumulate over time sacrificial materials. This zoomorphic-looking sculpture has a grainy, dry and hardened crust, on which light-colored drips appear.