The Self and the Other:
Personhood and Images Among the Baule
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Spirits as People
Nature Spirits
The Other World
Divination
Beauty for the Baule
The Other World Since 1900
The Present
Spirits as People
In the Baule language, a carved wooden figure is called a waka
sran, the words for "wood" and "person." It is considered to look
like a person--a man or a woman--and portrays human features.
Despite the misconceptions of non-Africans, the Baule never carve
figures as representations of ancestors--they all represent spirits.
The general term waka sran refers to figures that have different
functions. The two most common figures are those of the "bush
spirits" (asie usu), or an Other-World man (blolo bian) or an
Other-World woman (blolo bla). Bush spirits, who live in nature
outside the village, possess people and induce trances. Other-World
men and women represent the spirit mate of the opposite sex that
each person has in the Other World.
When a spirit is represented as a person, two things occur: the
spirit is given a tangible form, and it is given a human form.
As a figure, the spirit is now also within the human realm of
the village and can be addressed through words and offerings.
Nature Spirits
In contrast to individual spirit mates, figures carved as pairs
represent bush spirits (asie usu), the denizens of the wild world
beyond the edge of the village. They may arbitrarily intervene
in the lives of individuals, possessing a person, disturbing the
previous order and compelling him or her to act in abnormal ways.
One result may be madness; another result may be the gift of clairvoyance,
which makes a person into a trance diviner (komien). To reestablish
order, figures may be carved as intermediaries acknowledging the
spirits.
The Baule consider the public performances of the Baule trance
diviners not only as divination but also as a form of lively entertainment.
Although other types of Baule figures are usually kept in private
shrines and are rarely seen by non-family members, the figures
representing a diviner's asie usu are often publicly and eye-catchingly
displayed near the diviner--an explicit assertion of the diviner's
connection to the invisible world of spirits.
The Other World
The Other World (blolo) is thought of as an ideal world, a place
of exaggerated perfection. It is inhabited by human spirits; it
is the place from which the spirit of a newborn comes and the
place to which a person's spirit returns at death. It is also
a place where each person has an Other-World mate of the opposite
sex.
A person's Other-World mate often makes his or her presence known
by causing a problem, typically related to marriage, sexuality,
or childbearing. One must usually consult a diviner to discern
the hidden cause of the problem. In response he or she may suggest
that a figure representing the Other-World mate should be carved.
This figure gives tangible form to the invisible mate. The Other-World
mate is propitiated with offerings and also acknowledged by setting
aside one night a week to sleep alone and dream about the Other-World
mate. Through this relationship the problem is hopefully resolved
and future problems prevented.
Divination
The powers of the supernatural world can be made clearer by a
diviner or "revealer of causes" (wunnzueyifwe). There are also
those whose powers derive from a temporary possession by bush
spirits (asie usu), who can invest the diviner with clairvoyant
abilities. The most common form of divination is called ngoinman,
and involves the use of nine symbol-laden leather cords. Another
method involves the use of a "mouse oracle" (glekle se) which
is a two-chambered mouse house. The mouse resides on the lower
level until food is placed in the top chamber by the diviner.
As the mouse eats, it rearranges little sticks made of beads and
bones and these arrangements can then be interpreted by the diviner.
Beauty for the Baule
The key to appreciating the form of a Baule figure is understanding
that the artist carves it according to the same standards of beauty
that the Baule use for evaluating the beauty of real people. A
figure is considered to idealize human beauty. An elaborate hairdo
accentuates the face; the nose, mouth, and ears are finely sculpted.
The face imparts a sense of quiet dignity. Composure is also found
in the position of the hands and the comfortable stance of the
legs.
The neck is given great emphasis because the ideal neck for the
Baule is one that is longer than average. The pelvic circle, further
accentuated by beads, is an important component of feminine beauty
and a sign of child-bearing potential, as are the breasts and
gently swelling belly. Full calf muscles are a sign of beauty
for both men and women.
In the past, scarification of the body was a sign of beauty--patterned
textures called attention to smooth skin. Scarification is also
a means of individuation. The artist's depiction of the "person"
is further complemented by the owner's personalization of the
figure with beads or jewels.
The Other World Since 1900
By 1912 the Baule region was fully colonized by the French. Baule
ideas of human beauty have remained constant, but the effects
of Western fashion--headgear, clothing, shoes, and accoutrements--have
been felt in Baule culture and are reflected in the depictions
of Other-World men and women.
During the early colonial period, figures that represented Other-World
men were often depicted with European headgear--pith helmets,
military caps (kepis), hats, or caps. The elaborate male hairdos
of former times became less common. A full range of fashionable
attire for men and women was soon represented--shirts and ties,
shorts and long trousers, shoes and high heels. Skin tones formerly
depicted with natural dyes were rendered with commercial paints,
adding to the contemporary sense of the rendition.
The Present
The Other World is still a part of Baule thought. It is invoked
to explain the hidden causes of problems. Figures are still carved,
although they are increasingly depicted in a modern idiom. Such
figures are avidly sought by traders, who initially spurned figures
with modern clothing.
When clothed Baule figures appeared in the market stalls of art
traders in Côte d'Ivoire in the 1960's, foreign buyers assumed
that since they were depicted with Western-style clothes they
were meant to represent foreigners or "colonials." Figures were
collected with a misplaced nostalgia for colonial history, and
ultimately demand outstripped supply. Workshops were established
to produce these replicas and now hundreds are widely available
in Africa, Europe, and America.
While the goal of replica figures is to depict the undifferentiated
colonial type, modern figures are still made for use by Baule
people seeking to portray specific individuals. Each represents
a named and known individual--who happens to live in the Other
World.
The University Art Museum
University of California at Santa Barbara