Early Century Wood

Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century


Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century
Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century
Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century
Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century
Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century
Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century
Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century
Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century

Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century   Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century
Most of our pieces have spent decades on at least two continents, and have been treasured by several owners. Large crack on the bottom of the statue, Large crack on the back of statue, smaller cracks. Please see photos for details. A large standing female figure from the Malinke or Bamana people.

If truly Bamana, this figure would represent a beautiful young woman and could be identified as a "Jonyeleni", a member of the Jo society, a woman's and men's initiation society among the Bamana. Young women will carry figures such as this from village to village indicating that they are no longer children but mature women ready and available for marriage. This takes place on a seven-year cycle of initiation of boys and girls into this level of Jo Society membership.

The sculptures carried by the young women serve as paradigms of beauty and well-being reflecting the physical attributes of ideal beauty that the Jonyeleni reflects others. This idealization of beauty is reflected in the scarification and body markings as well as her stylized coiffure and the jewelry and clothing attached to the figure to enhance their attractiveness.

This well-carved figure also characterizes the essence of womanhood and of social cohesion that results from the order and structure of the Jo woman's society. The Jonyeleni figure represents the aesthetic ideal of youthful beauty allied to the characterization of an ideal society of order and structure. Please visit our About Us page.

It is owned by Eliza and Sara, who began the company after spending a year wandering southern Africa in a camper van with their multi-racial family. Customer Service : We treasure our many long term customers, and will try to make you one of them! If you have problems, please tell us... Most orders go out the same day, and all go out within 48 hours.

You're welcome to return an item within 30 days in the same condition you received it--just let us know you're returning it. We ask that you keep each order to 10 days or 10 items, whichever comes first--then start another order. When you're ready, just send us a list of item numbers or an invoice request and we'll send you an invoice. And please do not ask us to mark merchandise values below the actual value or mark items as "gifts"--U.

And International government regulations prohibit such behavior. Newsletter, previews and special offers : Sign up for our newsletter. Go to Africa Direct Store.


Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century   Bamana Female Figure Jonyeleni Early 20th Century