Baoulé monkey

In general, the baoulé agricultural world worships many agrarian deities. These are always represented by half-man, half-beast characters. The monkey is one. His posture is always the same: he stands in the attitude of a recipient of offerings. His legs are bent and between his hands is always a cup, which he places under his chin. These statuettes embody the monkey genius, gbékré, a formidable and feared character, who can cause phenomena of possession. They are kept on the fringes of the village and are considered the receptacle of the devastating force of the animal. During sowing, harvesting, or simply to ward off evil spirits, the leader of his cult (probably the mbra cult) will pour different materials as offerings: millet porridge, eggs, blood, meat... These offerings explain the crusty appearance that covers most of the time these statuettes.

Ref. : R79W8A4D