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Kafigeledjo (oracle figure)

19th–mid-20th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 341
A hybrid creation that lies outside the realm of anything recognizable in nature, this oracle figure deliberately provokes anxiety through its shrouded anonymity and the sense of suffocation and entrapment it suggests. These works and the ritual practice in which they are used are both known as kafigeledjo ("he who speaks the truth"). The figures give visual representation to invisible bush spirits and function as divination devices. Kafigeledjo divination is used to uncover misdeeds, false testimony, and culpability. Although such works have the potential to affect all members of a Senufo community, access to this oracle is restricted to the most enlightened senior male and, occasionally, female members, who keep it shrouded in secrecy.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Kafigeledjo (oracle figure)
  • Artist: Senufo artist
  • Date: 19th–mid-20th century
  • Geography: Côte d'Ivoire, northern Côte d'Ivoire
  • Culture: Senufo peoples
  • Medium: Wood, iron, bone, porcupine quills, feathers, commercially woven fiber, applied organic materials
  • Dimensions: H. 32 7/16 × W. 14 1/2 × D. 5 1/2 in. (82.5 × 36.8 × 14 cm)
  • Classification: Feathers-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Wielgus, 1964
  • Object Number: 1978.412.488
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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