Yonyeleni figuren - Figure - Bambara - Mali

Jonyeleni Bambara /Bamana Mali ritual Jo
unique! beautiful pair of male / female figures
the forms are sublime, airy and of rare elegance
h /male figure 43cm h /female figure 40cm
remnants of playful fine line engravings, especially on the upper arms
an extraordinary patina of age captivating condition
ex private collection Bruno Mignot /France
private collection

'The figures called Jonyeleni are representations of the woman at the primordial origin of Jo.
They are the materialization of the soul of the feminine entity that is at the origin of the creation of initiatic practices that organize and maintain social order.
These statues recall the girl in her ideal state at her highest degree of physical attractiveness.
The Jonyeleni statues are used during the septennial initiations which see them go from village to village, carried by the Jodenw.
One of the purposes of these itinerant journeys is the 'reactualization' of past alliances between families for the future marriages of the young.
Renewnelyeni 'Sweetness of Life': this is the name of the ritual day when these female figures, references to an ideal of feminine beauty, are washed, purified, anointed and then displayed ... '
'Banama' Rietberg Museum