Twisted Tchitcheri - Moba - Togo 23 cm without the stand. Wood with a dark brown patina of wear, crusty on some parts. This type of piece represents an ancestor shaped in a slender human body with an abstract face. There are three types of Tchitcheri figurines. They differ by their dimensions. The smallest one is named Yendu. The one of an average size is named Bawoong, and the largest one: Skawa. The smallest pieces (Yendu) are kept in houses. Their main function is to protect the community, they have healing virtues and bring prosperity, or can be placed on graves. These pieces do not represent a specific person or ancestor, but are the direct link of an individual with a deity. A Tchitcheri can only be created by persons whose fathers are soothsayers. Carving a Tchitcheri is considered as a delicate and very dangerous operation. For this reason, only soothsayers can offer to their sons the special protection required for the creation of such sculptures. Those who infringe this rule risk blindness or insanity.