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A Pair of Male and Female Rhythm Pounders (Tombibele)

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Image of A Pair of Male and Female Rhythm Pounders (Tombibele)

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Bookmark: http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/145768



unknown Senufo
Primary



A Pair of Male and Female Rhythm Pounders (Tombibele)

19th century - 20th century
Wood with traces of paint

53 1/8 in. x 47 1/2 in. (134.9 cm x 120.65 cm)

Bryn Mawr College
Accession Number: 99.3.45.a-b
Other Number(s): 37 (Sotheby's Lot Number)
Acquisition Date: 12/20/1996
Geography: Africa, Mali
Classification: Ceremonial and Performance Artifacts
Culture/Nationality: Senufo, Malian, West African, African
Collection: Neufeld Collection
Description: Pairs of rhythm pounders traditionally are the property of Senufo male initiation societies (Poro), and are removed from a society's sacred grove to aid in teaching and rituals. The objects are used during processions of initiates or during burial rituals, when they are swung rhythmically from side to side to call ancestral spirits to the rites.

The gendered figures represent the primordial couple: Katyleo is the ancestral mother figure, who has protective and magical powers as life-giver and nurturer, and Maleo is the male counterpart. With their relaxed stance, both muscular figures convey a sense of balance, symmetry, and serenity. The verticality of the sculpted pieces suggests their connection to both the earthly and spiritual realms.

Keywords Click a term to view the records with the same keyword
This object has the following keywords:
  • African - Refers to the cultures of the continent of Africa, which is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea.
  • déblés - Sculpted figures of the Senufo people of Africa. They are mostly of women, though men, couples, and equestrian figures are also known, and all have thick, heavy bases. Using them in various ceremonial contexts such as funerary rites and Iô society initiations, participants grasp the figures by their arms and rhythmically pound the ground with them.
  • female - Referring to the sex that normally produces eggs or female germ cells.
  • male - Referring to the sex that in reproduction normally produces sperm cells or male gametes.
  • Malian - Style and culture of Mali in West Africa, either the ancient empire of the 13th and 14th centuries or of the modern republic founded in 1960.
  • Senufo - Refers to the styles and culture of a group of closely related peoples of northern Ctte d'Ivoire and southeastern Mali.
  • West African - Styles and cultures from the region comprising the westernmost area of the African continent, defined by the United Nations as including the modern nations of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

Additional Images Click an image to view a larger version
Additional Image 99.3.45.a-b_BMC_f.jpg
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Additional Image 99.3.45.a-b_BMC_r_2.jpg
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Additional Image 99.3.45.a-b_BMC_r.jpg
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Additional Image 99.3.45.a-b_BMC_pr.jpg
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Additional Image 99.3.45.a-b_BMC_pl_2.jpg
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Additional Image 99.3.45.a-b_BMC_pl.jpg
99.3.45.a-b_BMC_pl.jpg
Additional Image 99.3.45.a-b_BMC_f_2.jpg
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Additional Image 99.3.45.a-b_BMC_d.jpg
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Additional Image 99.3.45.a-b_BMC_f_3.jpg
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Additional Image 99.3.45.a-b_BMC_f_4.jpg
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Additional Image 99.3.45.a-b In the Neufeld's Home
99.3.45.a-b In the Neufeld's Home

Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:

  • Owner Name: Mace Neufeld and Helen Katz Neufeld, Class of 1953
    Role: Donor
    Place: Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, US
    Ownership End Date: 12/20/1996


Bibliography List
The following Bibliography exist for this object:
  • Important Tribal Art Sotheby's . New York, NY, 1989
    Figure Number: 37
  • Marianne Hansen and Emily Croll. Worlds to Discover. Bryn Mawr College. Bryn Mawr, PA, 2010
    Page Number: 31
  • "African Heritage Document and Research Center." (Accessed June 11, 2020): AHDRC.eu. Record No.: 0072284.

Comparanda List
The following Comparanda exist for this object:
  • "The Brooklyn Museum Online Collection." The Brooklyn Museum Online Collections Database. (Accessed April 9, 2020): Brooklyn Museum, https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/collections. Accession No.: 74.214.
  • Tom Phillips, ed. Africa: The Art of a Continent (Munich; London; New York: Prestel Verlag and Royal Academy of Arts, 1999), 459. Figure Number: 5.126
  • Jean- Baptiste Bacquart, The Tribal Arts of Africa (New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 1998), 74. Figure Number: A

Related Bibliography List
The following Related Bibliography exist for this object:
  • Till Förster, "Smoothing the Way of the Dead: A Senufo Rhythm Pounder." Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2005): 54-67.
  • "The Brooklyn Museum Online Collection." The Brooklyn Museum Online Collections Database. (Accessed April 9, 2020): Brooklyn Museum, https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/collections. Accession No: 74.214.
  • Tom Phillips, ed. Africa: The Art of a Continent (Munich; London; New York: Prestel Verlag and Royal Academy of Arts, 1999), 459.
  • Jean- Baptiste Bacquart, The Tribal Arts of Africa (New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 1998), 72-74.

Portfolio List Click a portfolio name to view all the objects in that portfolio
This object is a member of the following portfolios:

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=BMC>cite web |url=http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/145768 |title=A Pair of Male and Female Rhythm Pounders (Tombibele) |author=Bryn Mawr College Library Special Collections |accessdate=3/28/2024 |publisher=Bryn Mawr College</ref>

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