Altar, Pregnant Woman

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 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. The figure features a female face with a long ringed neck characteristic of most of its altar statues. It is touched with a wooden hat and red cloth, similar to the male Irans, with a ribbon around it. The eyes are made of painted sheet. The whole body of the woman is reduced to her thick belly and small pointed breasts. This statue from the island of Uno, is hollow, is covered in cloth. These figures receive the cult of pregnant women. Very old brown patina. This statue has served for decades the cult of the Bidjogo.