Altar Vessel

Across the Gur-speaking region, individuals and families establish altars to honor and commune with influential spirits. Making altar vessels is the work of highly accomplished potters. The spikes on these vessels reflect a practice that is found across West Africa. Among the Lobi, such spikes symbolize fertility, fecundity, and protection. On this vessel, a chameleon, a symbol of wealth, stands squarely on the lid used to protect the powerful substances within from natural and supernatural contamination. [See also 2005.235].