An extremly rare Bamana sculpture

An extremely rare Bamana sculpture of a "wakoulo", the mystic "devil", an "animal", who is living near the Niger river and whose "bones" are required by special fetishes like for important Kono masks. It is the first time I collected a sculpture of this anthropomorphic animal

WJ "A Wakoulo?"

Daba "Yes this is an animal, with a height of around forty centimetres... with long ears.

"To Agibou, who is translating Bambara to French: "What does Daba mean with the word wakoulo.

Agibou: "This animal is called "fée" in French!" I got my dictionary to find out the name of this animal. "Maybe it is written a little bit different in French...

" Agibou responded."Maybe "Fez" or "Feze" - but no result.

"WJ "Can you explain a little bit more exactly how this animal is looking like? Does it still live in this region and died off like this antelope (Zine), where these horns are from?"

Agibou: "It is a rare animal, very rare. But it exists...also nowadays.

"To Daba: "Is it true, what Agibou is saying?

"Daba "Yes it exists, but it becomes rare nowadays

."To Agibou: "Have you ever seen it?"

Agibou: "No, but it exists, my father has seen it several times in the bush.

" We went to my Mac to google this "animal". For me the same result. A "fée is a "fairy" a "fay"."Take the button "picture"... that´s it. It´s exactly this animal. Here you can see it. In Bambara we call it wakulo, it´s rare, but it exists, it´s not died off like the zine, the antelope, also nowadays it´s alive in this region!"

* About the contamination-fear of Bamana sculptors s. Sarah C. Brett-Smith, "The making of Bamana Sculpture, Creativity and Gender, Cambridge University Press, 1994; 158 " Important sculptors shun women for fear of contaminating themselves and their ritual work through contact with menstrual blood. This substance is so powerful..."

900 - 1.200,- Euro

Height: 81 cm
Weight: 3 kg