African Arts Gallery

Femininity tutelary in the African art bambara, this sculpture of "little favorite",

Nyeleni in Bambara, is described stuck on a rounded base. The triangular face is capped with an incised ridge of parallel lines, heads. The scarified body displays the attributes of fertility by the full and tense breasts, the abdomen very slightly convex, the generous hips and the representation of the sex. The Bambara of central and southern Mali belong to the large Mande group, like Soninke and Malinke, who believe in the existence of a creator god generically called Ngala which has 266 sacred attributes: one for each day of the 9 Ngala maintains order in the universe, its existence coexists with another androgynous god called Faro, who gave all These are qualities to men, and they grow the fruits of the earth. Large masked festivals close the initiation rites of the dyo association and the bambara gwan ritual in the south of the Bambara country. Spread over a period of seven years for men, they are less demanding for women. The new initiates then celebrate, in groups, from village to village, their symbolic rebirth. These are the blacksmiths' sons who dance around these statues that were available outside the festivities grouped on an altar after having oiled and decorated them. Each effigy carried a message unveiled to the initiates.