Statue from private collection Jo-Nyeleni - bambara - Mali

Very pretty Jo-Nyeleni female statue from a Franco-Belgian private collection from the early 20th century, Bougouni Region, Ségou. It was exhibited during a major exhibition dedicated to the primary arts in France in 2013-2014. We will write a document retracing the history of this statue. This statue specially celebrates femininity, beauty, eroticism and fertility. Many oral traditions as well as the sculptures of Jo celebrate the virtues of women. If the male hero can exist, he often owes it to his wife, sister or mother from whom he inherits the moral qualities. This figure, by the prominent shapes of the breasts and buttocks, is very representative of the Nyeleni. According to several studies, the Jo-Nyeleni were used at the time of the septennial initiations. Dressed and adorned with jewelry, they were, during the rituals, undressed, washed and anointed with different substances. At the end of their retreat in the bush, during a tour of the surrounding villages, the new initiates danced carrying the statues in their hands and playing music, in order to attest to their accession to the age of d man and their aspiration to receive the ideal woman in marriage, symbolized by Jo-Nyeleni