Mumuye statuette - Nigeria (No reserve price)

The statue belongs to the category of figures known as Yanda. These objects do not represent individualized ancestors, but embody powerful spirits, spiritual forces, or magico-religious concepts.
• Protection and well-being: They function as protective fetishes. They were charged with safeguarding the community or their owner from illness, misfortune, sorcery (mangu), and malevolence.
• Divinatory rituals: During meetings of the secret society, the diviner or the cult leader anointed the statuette with ritual substances (oils, clay, red or yellow pigments) to "activate" it. It served as a medium to read omens or interpret the wills of the invisible world.
• Therapeutic healing: In case of illness, a member of the brotherhood could invoke the figurine's energy to drive away the malefice responsible for the affliction.