Arte de África · Private collection

Lobi

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Text of the original catalogue

The Lobi occupy part of northern Ivory Coast, north of the fauna reserve of Buna and south of Burkina Faso. They are a village of farmers and hunters. Its houses are rectangular and built around a central courtyard. Each soukhale gives shelter to a family: the father and his wives, married and single children and grandchildren. The Lobi they receive an initiation period lasting three months, before the circumcision that culminates with the Feast of the Djoro, which takes place every seven years. The Bateba statues of the Lobi represent the evil philistine thils to whom it is convenient to make offerings and sacrifices to ensure their protection. Following the instructions of the sorcerers altars are built inside the houses or on the roofs. The bats, usually made of wood, although they can also be carved in stone, are small statuettes that rarely pass from half a metre, not reaching some to ten centimetres. They are rudimentary in appearance, roughly carved, not intended to be aesthetic but useful. Its usefulness lies in its magical strength. The duntundator bats are among the largest and have apotropaic virtues will ensure protection in exchange for offerings and with their aggressive appearance will keep evil forces away from families. Others will bat, embody different Thil, who will be recognized for their attitude. The dangerous Thil will appear with raised or open arms while more peaceful ones will adopt a normal attitude and may even represent a woman or a motherhood, symbol of fertility and wealth that will flood the house. There are figures batting that represent fertility imitating a sexual act, the so-called betises. Its three-legged, European-inspired, courtship stools are known to be topped by the head of one or both spouses. They manufacture small bronze jewelry, such as earrings and pendants decorated with geometric drawings and also in ivory. The people Lobi The female statues are called Thilburu and are statues that of family altars.

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