bozo fish - Bozo - Mali (No reserve price)

On the banks of the Niger, near the Dogon in Mali, the Bozo are established as the region's oldest inhabitants. An ethnic group essentially made up of fishermen, they venerate the god Faro, a water spirit. The invention of the marionnette in Mali is attributed to the bush spirits who abducted Toboji Centa, a Bozo fisherman. During his stay with the spirits, he becomes familiar with this unfamiliar art. When he returns home, he goes to the smith-sculptors and teaches them how to shape puppets of two kinds: animals and human beings, miniaturized or enlarged. This fish puppet, with vivid polychromy, has articulated fins.