Senufo Tugubele Figure

History

The name Tugubele applies to both the spirits and the mediating statuettes. Artists creating Tugubele followed closely the instructions given to them by the diviner who would have been told specific details about the figure’s required appearance, gender, posture, scarification marks etc. directly by the spirit. Diviners were contacted by the spirits often while they were sleeping in the form of a dream. Senufo diviners, called Sando’o, used these small wooden anthropomorphic statuettes to communicate with the helpful spirits living in the wilderness.

Divinatory spirits and sculptures created for them are often referred to as ndebele, madebele, and tugubele (sing.: ndeo, madeo, and tugu) in several Senufo dialects used in northern Côte d’Ivoire, southeastern Mali, and southwestern Burkina Faso. People commonly link divinatory spirits with nature, namely water, trees, and uncultivated landscapes beyond town and city limits. They conceive of nature spirits as anthropomorphic beings with feet that point backwards, often invisible to the human eye. According to these beliefs, nature spirits may assist people to maintain good health, achieving success, and developing satisfactory relationships with friends and family. Spirits can also be held accountable for people’s illness or hardship, however, and are regarded with ambivalence. 

References:  Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi, Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art