"Wooden Sacrificial Pole Figure Fon"
Wooden pole figure, dark sacrificial patina of mainly oil. Kudio type of Bochio, also called “guardians” are thin pole-like figures. They function as a sort of “lightning conductor” , as the figure is meant to be a substitute for the living person. The figure must attract evil forces and so spare its owner(s). The patina of oil and blood refers to the fact that this bochio protected a shrine as only Vodun priests may use that kind of offerings. Provenance: 19th to early 20th century, Fon people, Republic of Benin, collected by Ann De Pauw and Luc Huysveld 
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