Antique Jo Society Female Figure

Origin: Bambarra Tribe, Mali
Composition: hardwood (one piece), metal staples

This is an old, finely-carved, museum quality Jo figure from the Bambarra (also called Bamana) tribe in Mali—one of the better such pieces in the SUJARO collection.

One of the socially constructed societies created for the initiation of Bambarra men is the Jo association. In their rituals and activities, the Bambarra tribe's Jo association uses these figures as part of the initiation of young men into adulthood. After six years of instruction, a symbolic death is enacted and the young men are "reborn" as adults. Then, while dancing, the initiates hold these figures -- whose large breasts and swelling abdomens allude to a young woman's capacity for childbearing -- to advertise that they are now ready to take a wife (ref: Detroit Institute of Art).

The long face and naturalistic expression are characteristic of Jo female figures. The authenticity of the piece is easily ascertained in its contrast to Bambarra reproductions being created in the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and South Africa, where the crafters use paint and other colors on the figure itself, and rely on photos to reproduce the Jo female image. With the exception of the occasional splattering of pigment and libations, this natural, light grain wood is typical of that in the sub-Saharan Mali area.

Typically, when a ritual object such as this figure is damaged it must be destroyed, used for another purpose, or sold to a collector or tourist. The figure follows traditional carving designs originating hundreds of years ago. Est. early to mid-20th century in age.