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Boli (power figure)

early 20th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 341
Boliw (plural) are power objects created and harnessed by bolitigiw (traditional occult practitioners), who attend to the temporal and spiritual security of the community. They are composed as a concentrated reservoir of nyama (life force). The now-cracked surface was continually renewed with applied libations of millet, alcoholic beverages, kola nuts, and the blood of sacrificial offerings. This combination of animal, vegetable, and mineral ingredients constitutes a type of carefully controlled esoteric knowledge, or daliluw.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Boli (power figure)
  • Artist: Bamana Initiate, Komo association
  • Date: early 20th century
  • Geography: Central Mali
  • Culture: Bamana peoples
  • Medium: Wood, cloth, beads, applied organic materials
  • Dimensions: H. 21 × W. 4 × D. 4 in. (53.3 × 10.2 × 10.2 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
  • Object Number: 1979.206.81
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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