Tribal Art

Spherical head framed by large ears and pierced pupils, tubular bust and semi-flexed legs, this statue without arms is swaddled in a cloth on which dark residues crystallize.
Among the Zigua, this type of sculpture was used as a support for initiation. The Sukuma of northern Tanzania use similar figures.
This piece of tribal art comes from the northeastern region of Tanzania, bordering Kenya, facing the Indian Ocean, where the Paré, Shamba, Zigua, and Mbugu tribes live. A relative homogeneity characterizes the productions of these groups, recalling some of the Malagasy and Batak with whom, via maritime trade, contact could once have been established. This sculpture was probably used for didactic purposes during male initiations. It could also embody an ancestor or a spirit.