Koma Terra Cotta Funerary Figure

Nobody is entirely sure what these were for. The mounds in northern Ghana have kept their counsel.

Koma figures are known from the burial mounds of the region, and they are generally believed to have been made in connection with funerary practice and the commemoration of the dead, though their exact purpose is uncertain. This terra cotta example dates between the 13th and 17th centuries and stands four inches tall. A long cone-shaped body tapers to a rounded point. Bun-like projections sit at either side of the head, and a small applied nose or mouth marks the face.

The coarse reddish-brown clay is pitted and encrusted with earth. Long burial leaves plain marks. These are the honest kind.