SogSoCUloLnP lTaU sRcEro ZfuOlMeuBsOe 99 A terracotta figure depicting a bovine58 in the Yale University Art Gallery may represent the Buffalo of Dô,59 as Bernard de Grunne suggests. But instead of facing “the twelve witches of the Sankaran” as he indicates, 60 the animal seems to be at grips with a hunter armed with a dagger, while another man seems to be sitting dejectedly on the ground holding what could be an egg in his hands.61 Has the artist taken a significant shortcut to show that the buffalo, although she has the power to kill and has already killed many hunters, is finally sacrificed (see above pp. 95 and 98)? Sunjata, Son of Sogolon Having credibly identified depictions of Sogolon in the tradition of IND terracottas, looking at other examples of these sculptures with various versions of the epic in mind reveals several possible images of her son, Sunjata, as well. The epic reports that early in his life his legs were paralyzed and that he moved around on all fours or with crutches and thus developed great strength in his arms. Sogolon’s son had a slow and difficult childhood: at three, he was still crawling while children born the same year as he were already walking. He was not handsome like his FIG. 15 (above): Quadruped (she-buffalo?) with two human figures (hunters?). IND region, Mali. 12th–17th century. Terracotta with ochre/red slip. H: 39.2 cm, L: 53.9 cm. Ex Charles B. Benenson (B.A. Yale, 1933). Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut. Inv. 2006.51.118. © Yale University Art Gallery. FIG. 16 (below): CT scans of figure 15, opaque 3D views, proper left, front, and back. © Dr. Marc Ghysels, Brussels.
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