Janus Figure with Raised Arm

Origin: Lobi Tribe, Burkina Faso
Composition: wood, natural materials

In every Lobi house, a small shrine room (thilda) is set apart for the worship of ancestral spirits. Inside the thil du are small figures of ancestors, called bateba, which embody the beneficent thil spirits. These enigmatic, brooding figures protect the Lobi people of Burkina Faso. Each figure was not a representation but an actual spirit, or tibil thil.

Because these pieces are very personal, their appearance and gestures vary greatly, and their purpose and meaning is just as diverse. Figures depicted with one arm raised are believed to have the power to block harmful forces, such as illness and misfortune. Also, the Lobi believe that the protective power of a bateba is the strongest when they can see in more than one direction at once, and this piece is probably also an extension of that belief (Ref: Africa: The Art of a Continent, A History of Art in Africa). 

SUJARO acquired this piece directly from the tribe while on a field collecting trip to Burkina in 2007.