Bamana Power Figure (Boli) spindlewhorls Through her devotion

Through her devotion

Éva David & Mikkel Sorensen

while some incorporate phallic and breast motifs

This particular example was salvaged from a shipwreck

Bamana Power Figure (Boli) spindlewhorls Through her devotionBamana people, early to mid 20th century, Mali, West Africa An exceptional aged power figure and ritual object, known as a boli, composed around a wooden or bamboo core and overmodeled with layers of powerful organic and symbolic substances mud, iron nails, cowrie shells, eggs, bird beaks, white cloth, ritual plants, bark, venom, chewed kola nuts, menstrual blood, urine, honey, beer, animal and human placentas, and excrement. Over time, sacrificial