Baule Blolo or Spirit Spouse Figure

Imagine a second world, running parallel to this one. Imagine you are married there.

The Baule of the Ivory Coast believe exactly this: every person has a spouse in that other world. When the spirit partner is felt to be unsettled, a figure may be carved to give it a home and kept close by. This is a blolo bian, a spirit husband, carved in wood in the 20th century.

He is ten inches tall and stands with arms held away from the body, his skin painted vivid red. Black marks the hair, eyebrows and short wrap. White picks out the eyes, fingers and toes.

A good husband, by all appearances, is a well-housed one.