Baule (Baoule, Bawule) Côte d’Ivoire

Spirit wife (blolo bla) figure. According to the Baule, the spirit spouses help their human partners broadly in their lives, and can spread their good will to the children. In the other world (blolo), before birth, all human beings were married, and in life those spirit spouses may follow their human partners and influence their lives. The female body as the source of life is one of the most potent spiritual powers that the Baule have, and clandestine or brazen looking at a woman’s sexual organs can be fatal to men. According to S. M. Vogel, a spirit spouse demands limited sexual fidelity: one night a week. If it is a man, he does not sleep with his wife, and the same for a woman who has a spirit husband. There is one day when she does not sleep with her husband. More rarely, a spirit spouse will help a clairvoyant or diviner to foretell the future for clients, or will produce some other specialized talent or activity, such as singing or dancing skill.

Material: wood

Size:  H. 22 ½”, W. 6”, D. 5”

Price:  $245+$28 (S&H)                            [#U0B7S737]