Altar couple

For Bidjogo everything sacred or anything that can enclose a mysterious energy is called . All peoples worship the Great Spirit of the Earth, the Great Iran.

After a sculptor has carved a must be sacrificed for what the elders, in a private sanctuary, apply to him the libations and potions established in tradition and the definitive sacralization will take place with a rite of blood before two villages gathered together. Many are carried by the young women over their heads in ceremonies mainly in the initiatic ones.

The Irans are kept in family sanctuaries and have the status of altar as is the case of this female statue representing a pregnant woman. Most of the Irans kept in sanctuaries are wrapped in cloths, mainly red. This small statue represents a pair of Bidjogo that seems to be introduced in a kind of basket, from only the torsos of the characters stand out. The man touches the woman's right breast with his left arm. Both the rope around their necks and the bonding by their torsos indicate the union between the husband and the wife. This statuette is intended to request family protection in family sanctuaries. The bidjogo pieces are very difficult to get. It will be seen that very few gallerists present them. These images remain in family sanctuaries covered with the redish African dust, the laterite. The wood is dark brown and very heavy and hard. It preserves remains of ritual libations. It comes from Orango Sigun Island.