Bracelet
Many individuals throughout Burkina Faso and Côte D’Ivoire commission elaborate bracelets, rings, pendants, and anklets to provide protection during childbirth and infancy and to ward against disease and other misfortunes caused by malevolent spirits. The imagery of such personal adornments draws upon the intercessional powers of both manmade items and elements from the natural world. Cast in brass using the lost-wax technique, protective ornaments were authored by blacksmiths, who belonged to an endogamous subgroup within their communities.
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