Figures Representing Otherworldly Spouses

Origin: Dan Tribe, Ivory Coast/Liberia
Composition: wood, pigment dyes, cotton textile, glass beads

The Dan people, who are also known by the name Yacuba, live in the western part of the Ivory Coast and into Liberia where the land is forested in the south and bordered by savannah in the north. The 350,000 Dan people make their living from farming cocoa, rice and manioc. Dan people have achieved notoriety for their entertainment festivals which were historically village ceremonies, where masked performers dance on stilts.

Most Dan figures are three-dimensional portraits of otherworldly spouses, and are kept hidden inside houses and only revealed during important occasions such as visits by foreign dignitaries (Passage from Tribal Arts of Africa).