SENUFO CHAMPION CULTIVATOR STAFFS
Also referred to as Tefalipitya, this trophy staff is placed beside the grave of a man that was a great farmer and cultivator. The staffs design is that of a woman, whose posture is upright, in order to contrast to that of the cultivator who worked hunched in the fields. Her breasts and belly represent fertility.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Albert Maesen was the first scholar to study Senufo art styles and researched Senufo staffs
-Professional Senufo wooden sculptors are called kulebele -Two figures commonly seen throughout Senufo art include a Tugu, spirit figure, and a Yasungo, power object. -One popular Senufo art form is the CHAMPION CULTIVATOR STAFFS: These objects are vertical staffs that are carved out of one piece of wood with a figure at the top -These Senufo staffs honor the champion cultivator. -The sculpted figure at the top of the staff represents pitya, an unmarried woman at the peak of her beauty. The figure takes the form of a woman and has large breasts to emphasize the female body -The meaning of the Senufo Champion Cultivator Staffs: trophy figures/agricultural staffs/ initiation prizes/ sometimes used in funerary contexts when an elder passes -Senufo Cultivator Staffs are awarded to Senufo initiates for their mastery of the secret language of poro. During this awarding, the staffs are held by the masked dancer -THE PROCESSION: Teams of young men swing iron hoes to the rhythm of drums and the staff bearers follow. |