These tall wooden carvings are usually female. They are used in different ways in ceremonies conducted by the Poro Society of the Senufo people on the Ivory Coast. For some ceremonies, they are pounded into the ground creating a rhythm for the dancers, "rhythm pounders," and for others, gathered into the center. The statues were used to commemorate ancestors, adolescent rite of passage initiations and funeral ceremonies. In rare cases, there are a pair of female and male statues, which represents the primordial couple.

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