| Lobi Bateba Duntundara figure also known as Bateba Ti Puo I have also seen them referred to as "Duntundora" |
| The Lobi people live in a vast geographical area that stretches from Burkina Fasso, to the Ivory Coast and into Ghana. Villages are spread out over wide areas and are made up of several compounds. The Lobi community is not organized on the basis of kinship or political ties and lacks any kind of centralized political authority in the form of a chief king or council of village elders. Instead the members of the community are united by common adherence to the cult of a nature spirit called “thil” (pl thila) and the rules that determine correct social behavior in the community are the rules that the spirit dictates through the diviner (thildar). The thila are invisible spirits of nature with certain supernatural abilities and powers that they can use for malevolent or benevolent ends. Each village has a particular spirit (dithil) that is responsible for the entire village. Social behavior is regulated by these thila, whose will is passed to ordinary people by priests and diviners. Wooden or clay sculpture, called bateba, act as an intermediary between a particular thil and the Lobi community. Lobi bateba figures have a wide degree of style and are made for a wide range of purposes. In Lobi communities anyone can learn to carve, it is not limited to people with specialized training. Lobi bateba figures are believed to be able to act in behalf of their owner, they are considered a living being and have the ability to act out against forces that could harm it’s owner or bring good things to it’s owner depending on it’s intended purpose. Very basic definitions BATEBA - Generally in literature on the Lobi the term "bateba" translates to a "wooden carved figure" BATEBA PHUWE - Normal or ordinary Bateba These figures usually have no specific defining posture and are often figures with arms straight down and the figures are looking straight ahead and often have a grim look on the face. These figures can have a variety of different functions. BATEBA Tl BALA - Unusual or extraordinary Bateba (sub categories Thil Dokra <janus figure>, Betise <mating couple>, maternity figures) Thil Dorka - Figures with two heads represent deities whose ability to see in several directions at once makes them exceptionally dangerous and powerful Betise - Figures depicting a man and a woman making love (the man always positioned behind the woman) are prescribed for single men so that they find a wife or to women to avoid sterility or wished to have a child. BATEBA YADAWORA - Sad Bateba Some figures are carved with sad expressions or have a hand touching the face because their function is to mourn for their owners. BATEBA Tl PUO - Dangerous Bateba Often referred to as Bateba Duntundara as well, these figures are considered dangerous and block entrance to harmful forces such as disease or witchcraft, and are depicted with one or both arms held up. BATEBA BAMBAR - Paralysed Bateba Figures depicting a seated man or woman with their legs stretched out in front of them are called bamgbar/bambar. According to certain soothsayers, these protect children and the elderly from paralysis. The Lobi often have conflicting interpretations of the meanings of the figures, and there are also varied meanings on similar figures because of regional variances. References: A History of Art in Africa, Lobi Art and Culture, The Lobi of Burkina Fasso, Lobi Skulpturen If you are interested in learning more about the Lobi, CLICK HERE to go to some great online reference articles. Link will open in a new window. |
| Lobi Bateba Duntundara or Bateba Ti Puo figure Provenance: Acquired from Brightpath Gallery Ex MacBernie Collection, NJ Measures 12 X 7 1/4 inches ______________________________________________________________________________________ These figures with the outstretched arms have become my latest obsession and fascination. I have never been SO strongly drawn to any African figure as I am drawn to these particular Lobi bateba figures. There is something about the pose with outstretched arms, and the meanings behind them, that really captivate and intrigue me. The pose of the figures is a powerful, yet a calming and reassuring pose which I'm sure is the intention. I see it as - Don't worry, I will block all harm and sickness that may try to come your way. In my opinion, the 4 figures that I have are really fantastic in their own regards and I love them all. Click on any image to see full size version |
| The figures that actually sparked my interest in the Lobi Bateba Duntundara figures are actually the Dayak territory marker figures from Borneo. They also have outstretched arms, but are usually out to the side. I saw a few at the NY Tribal Arts show in May 2005 and fell in love with them and then I came across the Lobi bateba duntundara figures with the outstretched arms and fell in love with them as well. I recently found one of the Dayak Patong Pantak or territory guardian figures and added it to my collection and it is pictured below. |
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| Patong Pantak or territory marker figure from the Dayak (or related) people Sarawak, Borneo Island, Malaysia CLICK HERE to see the page on my website for this figure in a new window. |
| Another type of figure, which is actually African, that I have also fallen in love with that is similar in form with the raised arms like the Lobi bateba duntundara figures is the Lengola ubanga nyama figures. The photo above is the wonderful display in the Hamill Gallery in Boston, my figures are the tallest one directly in the middle in the back and the shorter one on the far right. CLICK HERE to see my pieces in a new window |
| Photos of the Lobi shrines from: http://www.dogon-lobi.ch/lobialbum.htm Lots more photos at this site! |
| Information and photos below from: Metropolitan Museum of Art |
| Shrine Figures: Couple (Bateba Phuwe) Lobi, Burkina Faso Wood; male: H. 57.2 cm (22 1/2 in.); female: H. 46.4 cm (18 1/4 in.) 20th century Thomas G. B. Wheelock Collection |
According to Lobi conceptions of existence, God (thangba yu), the Creator of all life on earth, is an abstract and distant force. (1) More directly engaged in human experience are the thila, invisible and bodiless beings endowed with superhuman powers and abilities. Through the medium of diviners (buor), the thila issue injunctions against certain kinds of behavior; anyone who violates them will be punished with an ailment or some other misfortune. They also provide the means to reverse these conditions by prescribing cures and protective measures, also conveyed through buor. This dynamic was set in place by thangba yu in order to establish standards of political, social, and moral order in Lobi society, which humans had been incapable of managing by themselves. At the time of creation, according to oral traditions, humankind had enjoyed a carefree state in which thangba yu had provided for all its needs, a world where sickness and death were unknown, as were war or conflict of any kind. As a requirement of these idyllic conditions, thangba yu prohibited adultery and killing—commandments that were violated when the population grew out of control. Consequently, thangba yu retreated forever, leaving humanity to provide for itself and vulnerable to suffering and mortality. To mitigate this isolation, the Creator assigned to the thila the responsibility of responding to human needs and protecting people against witchcraft and sorcery. The directives (bonoo) given to individuals through buor are very exacting and must be fulfilled with precision. Failure to do so is thought to lead either to some form of punishment by the thila or to the persistence of the difficulties being experienced. Because they are amorphous beings, the thila depend on human mediums to communicate their instructions. Thila select individuals to fulfill this role by revealing themselves directly to them, or through notifying other diviners. Individuals usually resist this calling, as it is considered an onerous responsibility in view of the time commitment it represents and its lack of remuneration. Training is relatively informal and consists of observing consultations and rituals and learning the signs that the thila use to communicate.(2) Individuals consult diviners to gain insight into a broad range of situations that concern them. They enter into this relationship without describing the problem at hand. Instead, the diviner positions himself beside the client, grasps his hand, and, in order to determine independently the nature of the problem and which thila is involved in this particular situation, poses a series of questions that can be responded to with "yes" or "no" answers. Responses are indicated through specific movements of their joined hands.(3) A diagnosis ultimately reveals behavioral prohibitions that must be followed, sacrifices that are required, and instructions that may request the construction of a shrine or the commissioning of figural sculpture (bateba).(4) Small wood figurines are often part of the collection of paraphernalia owned by the buor, whereas works that are commissioned to fulfill prescriptions are larger in scale. The sculptor (bateba thel), who may himself have been directed toward his vocation by his thila, carefully follows the guidelines for such works, provided by the spirits through the diviner.(5) This couple represents a unified vision of the human form but displays subtle distinctions between the male and female figures. Although the female is slightly smaller in scale, she shares the same bold rectilinear cast, crisply rendered features, and gradually swelling torso with a pronounced navel. Both are depicted in a state of intense concentration, eyes closed and lips pursed, the male figure facing forward while his female counterpart turns her head in profile. This creates a dramatic shift between the orientation of their bodies and her gaze. Lobi figural sculptures commissioned as a result of a divination consultation represent tibila thil, people who help a spirit, and are designed to be placed in a residential or public shrine.(6) These two figures are thought to be bateba duntundara, a genre of bateba that serve to shield their owner against the witches that might attempt to enter his or her home.(7) Duntundara can be found in a broad range of representations, including figures that gesture dramatically or feature unusual physiological characteristics such as multiple heads or arms. Standing with their arms at their sides, this couple falls into a category of "plain" (phuwe) figures. Despite their tranquil stance, they embody an attitude of vigilance and acute awareness that surpasses ordinary reliance on sensory perception and intimidates potential malefactors. 1. Piet Meyer in Peek 1991, p. 92. 2. Ibid., p. 94. 3. Labouret 1931, p. 453; Piet Meyer in Peek 1991, p. 96. 4. Piet Meyer in Peek 1991, pp. 98–99. 5. Ibid. 6. Meyer 1981b. 7. Piet Meyer, Kunst und Religion der Lobi, exh. cat. (Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 1981), p. 56; Meyer 1981a, pp. 21–22. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art |
| LOBI brass Chameleon in my collection |
| A Lobi figure from the Maurer Collection bateba Figure (Lobi) 6" http://www.amherst.edu/~afroart/14maurer.html |
| A Lobi figure from the Maurer Collection bateba Figure (Lobi) 7.2" http://www.amherst.edu/~afroart/14maurer.html |
| A group of late 19th/early 20th century Lobi figures Height: 17,3 to 53,5 cm Collection du Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Angoulême (Poitou-Charentes) |
| A Lobi figure from the book: African Art in American Collections Mr. and Mrs. William W. Brill Collection |
| A Fantastic set of Lobi figures from the book: African Art in American Collections Both figures aprox 28" tall Fred and Rita Richman Collection |