African Arts Gallery

African tribal art and decorative pulleys of Senoufo looms
This pulley of smooth cephalomorphis is adorned with janiform faces with a conical crest rising from a long ringed neck. The walls are engraved with geometric patterns. The dark brown patina is grainy and lustrous by the ritual anointings based on oil.
Mainly farmers, the Senoufo group lives in a savannah region that covers southern Mali and Burkina Faso, and northern Côte d'Ivoire. It encompasses about 50 sub-ethnic groups. SSenoufo speak a Voltaic language Gur, Gur, like the Lobi and The Koulango. The councils of elders, led by an elected chief, administer the Senoufo villages. Governed by matrilineal traditions, they are composed of clusters of dwellings named katiolo . Each has its own associationPoro which introduces young boys from the age of seven in a succession of three cycles lasting seven years. Living in a reserved neighbourhood, the sculptor senufo , whose training spanned seven years, began with the making of everyday objects, and then, little by little, carried sculptures of increasing size. Initiatory rituals complemented his learning.