Scattered across the Ivory Coast, Mali, and Burkina Faso, the Senufo tribespeople

principally lived off the fruits of agriculture and occasionally hunting. They inhabited

tribal villages governed by a council of elders, who in turn are led by a chief elected

from their number. Tribal cohesion was reinforced by the rituals of the Poro society,

who initiated and educated men from the age of seven onwards. Senufo theology is

based on Koulotiolo, a powerful god, and Katieleo, a goddess mother who through

the rituals of Poro society regenerates the world.

Senufo art varies a great deal: among statuary there are many types of masks and

figures, widely ranging in size and use. Among the most important for the Senufo,

and the most famous statues of all African Art, are the Pomibele, meaning ‘those who

give birth.’ Pomibele are sometimes referred to as ‘rhythm pounders,’ due to their

use among some southern Senufo tribes during ceremonies in which they are carried

and then pounded on the ground, providing rhythm for dancers. This term, however,

only provides one narrow context in which these statues were active in Senufo life

and culture.

Pomibele come in both male and female form (and this rare Janiform type, to be

discussed below) and were usually carved as pairs. The couple represents the ideal

social unit, the 'reborn' initiated man and woman as the ideal standard of social,

moral, and intellectual formation, the reverence for the ancestral lineages of Poro

graduates who have 'suffered' for the group during their lifetime. They were displayed

at memorial ceremonies for ranking elders of both sexes and occasionally at comingof-

age rites. Sometimes, initiates carried them and struck them on the ground and

swayed them from side to side to mark the rhythm of the dances at which they were

shown. At other times the figures would simply stand as witnesses to the ceremonies.

These figures have long been admired outside of Africa because they adhere to

universal aesthetic principles. They are beautifully balanced, elegant in their gracefully

elongated forms and quietly commanding in their confident expressions. They gain

additional significance from the way in which they express the values of the Senufo

culture itself. Certain African human masks and figure sculptures were made as

tangible expressions of the values of tradition and permanence and the benefits of

civilized society. They exude authority, wisdom, and experience but at the same time

burst with youth and spiritual vitality. These faces and figures represent beings who

are in the prime of life. Their appearance reinforces their cultural function in

transmitting these philosophies to the people who believe in them. The corpus of

rhythm pounders can be ranked as among the most successful of African sculptures

in achieving this end.

This Janiform figure is of an extremely rare type. A comparable figure came to auction

at Christie’s Paris in 2002, and is reproduced below.