African statuette embodying a village spirit, designed to try to obtain the favor and protection of ancestors. A hut in the center of the village housed this type of figures which were the subject of offerings. Some of them were used for divination. The head reproduces the morphology of the Baga Nimba mask, whose hooked nose refers to the beak of the hornbill, and incised hair divided by a crest. This national symbol can reach up to 50 kg in its largest versions. His real name Demba / D'mba (or Nimba in the Baga language), he evokes the nurturing woman, but also the fertility of the hornbill . Supposed to increase harvests and encourage pregnancies, the mask is exhibited during various ceremonies, festivals and funerals. Glossy red-brown patina, minor abrasions. Mixed with the Nalu and the Landuman, the Baga live along the coasts of Guinea-Bissau in swampy regions flooded six months a year . The fundamental ritual, among the Baga and their neighbors, consists of initiation which takes place every twenty-four years. The initiation society is named after the spirit invoked, or to-lom (sacred). . Sources: “Baga” D.Berliner; “Baga” M.Y. Curtis, 5Continents.
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