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40. Figure: Janus (Bocio)
Fon, Republic of Benin
Wood, bone, wire, organic material; H. 49.5 cm (19 1/2 in.)
19th–early 20th century
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Denise and Andrew Saul Philanthropic Fund Gift, 1984
1984.190

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40. Figure: Janus (Bocio)

he harsh severity of the expressions on the two faces of this Janus figure (bocio) is heightened by additions of powerfully suggestive unrefined matter to its surface. In Fon culture, the long-standing integral relationship between such works and divination predates the dominant contemporary method of divination, Fa, introduced in the eighteenth century (see cat. no. 13). Before that, Fon diviners frequently relied on a method known as Bo—the earliest remembered form of divination in that culture—and prescribed these figures, bocio, as protective devices for their clients. Bo is referred to as the "oracle of the ancestors," and in Fon society the term for a diviner or geomancer is bokonon ("owner of Bo knowledge").1 In adapting Ifa from their neighbors the Yoruba, the Fon integrated two distinct divination strategies, and therefore later bocio forms often conceptually draw on specific Fa divination signs.2

Bocio are prescribed by priests and diviners to promote health and well-being.3 They can be designed to respond to an endless variety of needs and desires, such as achieving intimate personal goals, influencing the weather, detecting thieves, or shielding one's family from sorcery.4 Most bocio are proactive defensive mechanisms commissioned by individuals to eliminate problems before they can cause any harm. In order to ensure their owners' protection, they serve as surrogates for the people who commission them, functioning as decoys and deflecting the imminent danger onto themselves.

A bocio consists of a sculpture carved of wood onto which various kinds of unrefined matter are added by the individual who is considered to be its "activator." Only men carve bocio sculptures, and since the added materials are more important than the figure itself, the sculpting is often done by nonspecialists.5 Most bocio are made by ordinary people for their family members, but these are not perceived to be as potent or efficacious as those made by specialists, who draw on esoteric knowledge and sources of power. Those specialists include bokonon empowered by Fa—the source of all divinatory insight—and priests associated with various deities (vodun).

In view of its scale and its masterful fusion of figurative and additive elements, this work suggests a collaboration between professionals—a sculptor together with a priest or diviner. The rawness of the carving style is complemented by the exposed empowering matter displayed on the surface. The weathered condition of the carved wooden bust creates an effect of vulnerability.

The face on the front side of the Janus is fuller than the other, and clearly dominant. Its expression reflects a state of intense concentration—the lips are pursed and the prominently carved eyes closed. Projecting from either side, the ears are disproportionately large. On the reverse side is a more roughly hewn face with asymmetrical eyes. The animal skull that crowns the head is oriented in the same direction as this cruder face, whose otherworldly gaze is accentuated by the skull's empty eye sockets. The surface of the head is textured with added organic matter, and the two faces are unified by a garland of strung vertebrae that encircles the neck.

The subjects of bocio representations have been interpreted as portraying both the patron and the harmful forces they deflect.6 In the work shown here, the presence of two sets of eyes and ears powerfully conveys its heightened vigilance and acute sensory awareness. Such bocio featuring Janus imagery are especially prevalent, and are variously referred to as "owner of two heads" (tawenon), "owner of four eyes" (ene nukun non), or "eye in front, eye in back" (nukun do gudo nukun do nukun).7 Numerous different meanings have been associated with this genre and its characterizations. For example, in Fon culture, sorcerers are believed to have "double vision," and those empowered to combat them must be similarly endowed. The double-faced image is also the preeminent sign of omniscience, and thus evocative of the deity of geomancy, Fa, who often empowers such works. In addition, two heads and four eyes are attributes of the almighty solar god, Mawu, the ultimate arbiter of divine sanction and retribution.8 While the style of this particular work is one usually found in works by Fon commoners, the leadership also relied on Janus representations for protection.9

Although general formulas may exist for the organic composition of certain types of bocio, no two are ever exactly alike, and nobody but the maker of a bocio knows what matter has gone into its creation.10 These comprise a broad range of plant and animal elements, selected primarily for their associations with physical and metaphorical strength. While some suggest this through their appearance, others allude to legends, proverbs, or various vodun. The vertebrae strung around this figure's neck are believed to be those of a snake. In such contexts, reptiles are generally associated with poison and swelling. Serpents also figure prominently in the larger Fon visual culture as the primary emblem of the kingdom of Dahomey. A serpent biting its tail is a visual sign for the name "Dahome," which, literally translated, means "in the middle of the serpent."11 Likewise, the god Dan—the Fon deity who represents a person's capabilities in life and is critical to his or her identity—is personified as a serpent and is identified with wind and motion.12

The dog's skull on top of the figure's head reinforces notions of guardianship and surveillance. Dogs are associated with loyalty and domesticity, and warn their owners of potential danger by barking. Because dogs are proficient as swimmers, such a relic may protect one from drowning; and it is also considered appropriate for bocio made for pregnant women, since the dog is regarded as a model of easy childbirth.13

Given its apparent ability to observe and detect danger coming from any direction, such a work would have been employed as a sentinel for a home, temple, or city. Positioned along paths, roads, agricultural fields, and near domestic compounds, as well as inside homes and shrines, bocio operate at a crossroads between the spiritual and human realms of experience.14

1. Blier 1995, p. 105.

2. "The central place of ‘bo' and ‘bocio' within Fa . . . is what distinguishes this divination tradition from the closely related divination form called Ifa employed by the neighbors of the Fon, the Yoruba." Ibid., p. 105.

3. Ibid., p. 69.

4. Blier 1993, p. 186.

5. Blier 1995, p. 67.

6. Ibid., p. 131.

7. Blier 1995, p. 283.

8. Ibid., pp. 286–87.

9. Ibid., p. 287.

10. Ibid., p. 186.

11. Ibid., pp. 206–7.

12. Ibid., p. 201. Blier also notes that another material associated with the deity Dan is cord, which evokes the umbilicus as well as other related anatomical features, such as veins and ligaments. Ibid.

13. Ibid., p. 235.

14. Ibid., p. 16.