FEATURE 39), often interpreted as a man (or woman) with a beard.124 We were surprised and fascinated to note that both figures also displayed the emblematic sign of the pigeon chest. In light of the previous evidence, we interpreted figure 37 as a maternity, again depicting Sogolon and Sunjata but this time in a very different configuration. Sogolon, with the familiar sternal deformity, is presenting 116 her son, the future emperor of Mali. Already invested with his role, Sunjata is facing his people and the brilliant future that awaits him. This sensitive and moving sculpture shows a mother’s tender gesture, protecting the boy who no longer belongs to her since he is destined for an extraordinary future that will change the course of the history in the region forever. Curiously, Sogolon’s thumbs crossed on Sunjata’s head exhibit a convex deformation at the last phalange, known as “drumstick finger.”125 Instead of a bearded man, we interpret the sculpture in figure 39 as a young woman with her tongue protruding. She has breasts and she exhibits the pigeon chest deformity. The texture at her throat should not be read as a beard because this is usually represented by a projection scored with fanning striations. In this case, a hemispherical mass covers the chin and neck. This mass, which bears about twenty dotted circular motifs, probably alludes to another extrapulmonary manifestation of mycobacterial tuberculosis more commonly called scrofula.126 In the course of this disease, the cervical lymph nodes, infested with Koch’s bacilli, sometimes swell to considerable size (see fig. 40) with an outbreak of deforming abscesses, cutaneous fistulas, and, finally, retractile scars. In extreme cases, the feeling of suffocation resulting from compression of the pharynx by the swollen scrofulous lymph nodes can be relieved only by maintaining an open mouth and thrusting out the tongue. If we pursue this interpretation, the “snake-shaped ring” around the neck of the MQB statue and the maxillary protuberances on the Barbier-Mueller figure (figs. 41 and 42) take on another meaning: They too may well represent swelling, abscesses, and scars caused by scrofula. This last-minute contribution, which supports the hypothesis developed in this article, encourages us to think that our tentative interpretation will not stop there, and that by examining other works from the delta, both visually and in the CT scanner, we will discover other features corroborating our analyses. Epilogue In comparing the sculpture in the Musée du Quai Branly with other statues from the Inland Niger Delta, we were not surprised to find that several layers of interpretation coexist. First are the medical observations: The artists took their inspiration from what they saw and tried to translate it into clay, but their approach obviously goes well beyond the visual record of the diseases affecting the people of the time. Second is the symbolic meaning: The diseases illustrated must be seen as signs or identity markers,127 with which we are confronted with what Foucault calls the “exaltation of the performing or productive body.”128 In this context, the diseases emphasize occult practices, those that cause misfortunes as well as those that help avoid them. They are also markers of uncommon status, often in relation to the ambiguous standing of individuals in power. Sogolon and her son, Sunjata, are emblematic figures whose power is multiplied by the mastery of supernatural practices. Sogolon’s repulsive ugliness and physical deformities and her son’s disability, all associated with their esoteric knowledge, marginalize them from the outset. If, as we believe, the IND terracottas can be interpreted through surviving oral traditions, the dynamism of which is retained in the griots’ storytelling, they can be reinvested with the pride that the Malians and all Mande populations already take in their oral heritage in general and in the Sunjata Epic in particular. This possible convergence of material and immaterial heritage, here brought to light by the CT scanner, opens up new research possibilities. Even more opportunities are revealed, as this also dispels the cliché that the scanner can be used only to verify the authenticity (or rather lack thereof) of objects, or that it is just another form of Xray. The subtlety of the analysis it allows goes well beyond these functions, and it is an indispensable element of today’s analytical toolkit because it allows us to return to the genesis of a sculpture, when the artist was still working the clay, wood, stone, or other material that the rays can penetrate without altering. We wish to emphasize that we are submitting our hypothesis regarding IND terracottas to the criticism of the scientific community with the hopes of shaking it out of its torpor, which is in part due to the fear of encouraging mercantile speculation and clandestine digs. We now have the legal means to protect this heritage. Given this, we can even envision a systematic study—obviously in partnership with Mali—of all such objects that have already left the country, as well as a traveling exhibition that presents the challenges of this FIG. 40: Medical wax bust showing scrofula, by Jules Talrich, Paris, 1890. © National Museum of Health and Medicine, Silver Spring, Maryland, inv. M-550 10070. Photo: Matthew Breitbart.
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