Figure
| Culture | Zaramo |
|---|---|
| Title | Figure (Mwana nya Nhiti) |
| Date | 19th–20th century |
| Medium | Wood |
| Dimensions | Object: 5 3/8 × 2 3/16 × 2 7/16 in. (13.7 × 5.6 × 6.2 cm) Overall: 5 3/8 × 2 3/16 × 2 7/16 in. (13.7 × 5.6 × 6.2 cm) |
| Credit Line | Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 88.11.1 |
| This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request. | |
A carved abstracted female figure with prominant breasts and navel. The top portion includes a short hemispherical shape with a crescent shape wrapping vertically around it, an abstracted representation of the head and a hairstyle.
The Zaramo are one of several peoples of northeastern Tanzania who traditionally use small abstract depictions of female heads and torsos as part of female initiations. With obvious connections with fertility—after a woman’s marriage, the figure may also play a role in rites to ensure a successful pregnancy—the figures are also considered one of the ways in which the living maintain contact with their ancestors. Though the figures are female in appearance, the overall form frequently appears phallic; scholars have suggested that this dual appearance affirms the fact that both men and women are needed for the continuation of a lineage and refers to the traditional bilineal nature of Zaramo society, in which descent was traced through the mother’s line, but authority in spiritual matters came from the father’s.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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Cite this page
"Figure | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=88.11.1