Zoomorphic Figure (Boli)
Bamana
1850–1925
- Medium
- Wood, cloth, mud, and sacrificial material
- Dimensions
- 48.3 × 31.8 × 50.8 cm (19 × 12 1/2 × 20 in.)
- Genre
- wood
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
mudsacrificialsupernaturalshrinesbamanawoodplant materialanimalsNorthern Africa and the Sahelsecrecywood (plant material)medicineafrican Artarts of Africacarvingclothritual objectsceremonial objectcoating (process)protectorsacrificial material
About
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.
