Moba diviners influence and direct the planning, design and ritual use of tchitcheri figures for family or clan shrines. They are protective and promote health and prosperity. Representing no particular person or ancestor, they are an individual’s direct link with God. The figure is reduced to an elemental, symbolic form. Details such as facial features, hands, feet and indications of gender are rare.
MOBA TCHITCHERI FIGURE
- Togo
- Moba culture
- 18th - 19th century or older
- Hardwood
- H. 66 cm
- Provenance:
• Collected personally in situ by Pierre Amrouche, Paris, towards the end of the 1980’s.
• Collection Halpen, Paris
- Publication:
• Le Journal des Arts, July 2005
Moba diviners influence and direct the planning, design and ritual use of tchitcheri figures for family or clan shrines. They are protective and promote health and prosperity. Representing no particular person or ancestor, they are an individual’s direct link with God. The figure is reduced to an elemental, symbolic form. Details such as facial features, hands, feet and indications of gender are rare.
Photo credit : Studio Asselberghs – Frédéric Dehaen
