Fetish figure - MOBA - Togo - Tchitcheri

Tchitcheri Moba Togo

27 cm.

Hard wood with a dark brown patina of use, crusty in places.

This type of piece represents a schematized ancestor in a slender human form with an abstract face.

There are three kinds of Tchitcheri statues. They differ by size. The smallest is called Yendu. The medium-sized one is named Bawoong, and the largest: Skawa.

The smaller pieces (Yendu) are kept in homes. They have the main function of protecting the community, possess healing virtues and bring prosperity, or they can be placed on tombs. They do not represent any particular person or ancestor but are the direct link of an individual with the deity.

The tchitcheri can only be shaped by people whose fathers are diviners. Shaping the tchitcheri is considered a delicate and very dangerous operation. For this reason, only the diviners grant their sons the special protection required for the creation of such statues. Those who transgress this law are said to risk blindness or madness.