Fang Bwiti Fetish Figure, Based

Five points reach outward from a tightly bound center. Nothing about it is casual.

Here is a Bwiti fetish figure from the Fang peoples of Cameroon, 20th century, in twine, leather and iron, set on a base. Fang practitioners of Bwiti, a religious tradition of initiation and ancestor reverence, made and kept objects of spiritual significance, and scholars still debate many of their details. This one has a thin upright spike, two arms ending in small points, and a stitched leather body in reddish tones. Gold-colored coils bind the waist. Pale twine wraps the base of two curved iron prongs. Twelve inches high.

Best kept where it can be given some room.