Height: 17.7 CM
The term “biiga” means in Moore, the language of the Mossi, “child” in the sense of an “individual who has not reached physiological maturity” or “descendant”. Although called "child" (biiga) and treated as such by little girls, these figurines visually reproduce on a small scale a woman: a young girl through the hair and abdominal scarifications, but also a wife through the deformation of the breasts, more precisely a mother. These figures are therefore as much a representation of the child as the image of the woman to come or even her future offspring. Although the biiga represent women, the children give them a boy or girl name, dress them, wash them, feed them, carry them on their backs, make them jump on their outstretched legs...like a real baby. Sometimes offered by one of the parents, the biiga, then carefully preserved, is taken by the young bride to her husband because it is considered a stimulant to pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur, the sterile wife will acquire another to support the fertilizing forces. According to Suzanne Lallemand, the biiga – as the baby's double protector – receives first aid: once the umbilical cord is cut, washing the newborn comes after that of the wooden child, as well as the massage with shea butter. The figurine is then laid next to the mother before her infant is placed there. As for the first drop of breast milk, it is reserved for the statuette before the child suckles its mother. Later the statuette will be worn one last time on the back.
Item delivered with an invoice and a certificate of authenticity.
african art african tribal arte africana afrikanische kunst
