Dokumentation

ARTS AND CRAFTS FROM WEST AFRICA

Carving in the SenuFo region

The art of carving is done exclusively by men of certain professional groups. In addition to the actual carvers, there are sometimes also farmers, blacksmiths and Numus, who learn the craft. The traditional carving process is accompanied by cultic practices, beginning with the ritual of slaughtering a chicken before chopping a tree down so that the wood can be used to work with. If the tree is said to be home to a spiritual being, it must be asked by way of offering gifts, to seek a different place of residence. It is essentially forbidden to fell any tree in the holy grove, the home of the Poro. The Kapok tree is seen to be the main type of tree said to house spirits.

fabric painting

The Senufo still partly use conventional garments that stand out due to their unique production style. In everyday life, women and girls wear hip scarves, and if they are mothers a second cloth will be used as a baby carrier to tie the child to their back. These hip cloths are made in the same way as the men's shirts or suits, and children’s shirts. They are made of coarse, hand-spun and handwoven cotton fabric, with narrow, ribbon-like, 9–15 cm wide cotton strips sewn together to the required width. Garments for everyday use are natural-white or have woven stripes in natural indigo-blue. 

Casting

Around the middle of the 19th century, the Senufo blacksmiths took over the casting craft from the Lokos, who were originally the gunsmiths in this region. Today, the blacksmiths are, in addition to their traditional blacksmith work and occasional woodcarving work, the undisputed casters in the Senufo region.

Techniques
Since time immemorial, lost-wax casting has been known in West Africa, and requires a great deal of experience and craftsmanship.

POTTERY

Among the Senufo, iron working and wood carving are the activity of male Numu blacksmiths, while the casting of soft metals is carried out by the Loko brass casters. In contrast, the making of pottery is traditionally considered the work of women who were generally the wives of these male craftsmen. The women potters supplied their village with the necessary pottery for the various needs of everyday life and ritual purposes. 

Different pottery forms are shaped to serve as cooking pots, storage vessels, water containers, and eating bowls. When stacked and fitted into one another, large pots provided protection against insects and moisture and would also keep fabrics safely stored. Also, among the Senufo a large number of stacked pots in a household were a sign of a family’s wealth and prestige.