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3. Diviner's Figure: Equestrian (Syonfolo)
Senufo, Côte d'Ivoire
Wood, paint; H. 19.7 cm (7 3/4 in.)
19th–20th century
Museum Rietberg, Zurich
RAF 318

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3. Diviner's Figure: Equestrian (Syonfolo)

enufo wood and copper-alloy figurines that depict equestrian warriors, such as the one shown here, are not essential components of a Sando diviner's kit (see cat. no. 2). Instead, they constitute artistically accomplished tributes to the professional success of the diviners who commissioned them.1 The dazzling beauty of these prestige pieces, known as tana ("ornamental" forms that contribute a spectacular and ostentatious effect), amplifies the efficacy of the diviner's basic set of implements by enhancing her ability to attract the madebele's interest and favor.2 Since only the most successful diviners can afford to engage the better sculptors to create such works, their ownership and display in turn indicate to the community at large the diviner's attainment of an exceptional level of professional competence.

In this representation of a warrior atop his steed, the duality of the motif is underscored visually through the artist's dynamic interpretation: within a harmonious composition that consistently reduces features to essential forms, horse and rider are distinguished from each other through a formal tension produced by juxtaposing the human figure's sharp angularity with the rectilinear treatment of the horse. The warrior's upper body is composed of a series of features that taper into sharp points: at the top is the sagittal crest that crowns the head, and below it the elongated mouth, the protruding breasts and abdomen, and an arm bent at the elbow. In contrast, the horse is essentially a horizontal mass with a series of blocklike, vertical appendages: the head hanging down, two supporting leg elements, and a tail. At the visual point of intersection of horse and rider, however, they are unified, where the rider's left hand is held flat along the horse's flank. This accentuates the complete fusion of the figure's lower body with the horse.

As emblems of professional success acquired by diviners at the height of their careers, equestrian figures such as this one are synonymous with spiritual efficacy.3 Referred to as "lord of the horse" (syonfolo), this image of martial strength suggests formidable power. Among Senufo elders, the motif evokes memories of mounted invaders from faraway territories—primarily the Djula peoples from the north—whose superior strength wreaked devastation upon local inhabitants during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The foreign character of the image complements the otherworldliness of the madebele, while the assured confidence with which the rider guides his horse and carries his weaponry alludes to the diviner's skill. No mere aesthetic flourish or esoteric luxury item, this supplement to a diviner's essential tools makes a forceful visual statement evoking the dynamics of power and success in Senufo society.

1. Glaze 1981, p. 720.

2. Anita Jean Glaze, "Senufo Ornament and Decorative Arts," African Arts 12, no. 1 (1978), p. 63.

3. Kunst der Senufo 1988, p. 85.