Equestrian figures

The representation of a man on horseback is a redundant figure in the artistic production of many African ethnic groups. The cavalry was decisive for the expansion of empires Mossi And Songhay, having to face enemies with an unequal force. For Dogon The horse is associated with the ark which, in its cosmogony, descended from the sky suspended to a copper thread carrying the first ancestor who transformed into a horse to drag it to find the first rains that made it float like a canoe. The ark is depicted as a sort of rectangular arch with a head and a horse tail at the ends. It also symbolizes Lebe, the spirit of the nommo who brought fertility to the earth and fire to men. For Baulé and the Senufo equestrian figures of wood are mediators in divinatory processes as are forging figures of the Lobi and for Yoruba they embody Obatala, one of the 16 secondary divinities commissioned by Olorun, god of Heaven, to create the world and to introduce life into it. Many other ethnicities have created these figures that can represent warriors, dignitaries, monarchs and even beings from beyond, whether in wood the most numerous, in bronze, iron, terracotta or stone. Many of them are kept in family altars for various purposes, as they also serve as mediators with the supernatural world to ask for fertility, strength and healing of diseases.