Baule Blolo or Spirit Spouse Figure

Everyone, the Baule say, has a spouse in the other world. Keep that one happy.

A blolo is a spirit spouse figure. The Baule believe in a world parallel to the living, and when the spirit partner was thought to be unhappy, a carved figure might be made to honor and care for it. This woman, carved in the Ivory Coast in the 20th century, stands nearly eighteen inches tall.

Her surface is a glossy reddish-orange. A topknot coiffure, dark brows, a ringed neck, hands resting on the abdomen near a prominent navel. A long skirt painted with black and white dots falls to bright red feet.

A marriage, handled with tact.