African Tribal Figure Wood Hand Carved Vintage Wall Hanging Figure Pombia-4150

26.3/8 cm
This male figure was carved by a master sculptor in northern Côte d'Ivoire as part of an idealized pairing. Known as pombibele (sing.: pombia), or "children of poro," such imposing male and female figures were the major sculptural forms commissioned by the poro association in Senufo communities of Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Burkina Faso. During funerals and commemorative ceremonies for distinguished association members, male figures like this one stood with female companions evoking a primordial couple. Sculptural pairs honored the deceased as they entered the society of ancestral spirits and recalled their lineage extending back to their earliest ancestors. On these occasions, poro members displayed pombibele figures in architectural settings or tapped them on the ground to the rhythm of drums in a procession..