Zoomorphic Figure (Boli)
Mid-early 20th century
Bamana Mali Northern Africa and the Sahel
Mali
A boli is a type of Bamana power object, an object charged with spiritual energy that can affect human life. Like this one resembling a bush cow or hippopotamus, they are typically made of wood wrapped in layers of cotton cloth and covered with sacrificial materials—including animal blood, plant extracts, and dirt—imbued with energy by a specialist in healing and divining.
A boli is commissioned and cared for by an organization like Kono or Komo that oversees the various spiritual rites of a community in order to harness spiritual energy for protective or therapeutic purposes.
Wood, cloth, mud, and sacrificial material