African Arts Gallery

Figure "Waka -Sona", "est of wood, ED" in baoulé, carved in dense wood, presents a light brown patina. Both hands of the character rest on the bulging abdomen. This gesture of life refers to parentage. Two types of statues Waka-Sona are produced by the baoulé in the ritual framework: those that evoke a assius oussou, being from the earth, and are part of a set of statues intended to be used as a medium tool by the Komian soothsayers, the latter being selected by the asye usu spirits in order to communicate the revelations of the afterlife. The second type of statues are the spouses of the afterlife, male, Blolo bian or female, the blolo bia . About 60 ethnic groups populate Côte d'Ivoire, including the Baoulé in the centre, Akans from Ghana, the savannah people, hunting and farming, as well as the Gouro, whose cults and masks they borrowed. The basic unit is lineage, under the responsibility of an elder, whose functions are political and religious.