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Holly Keko 109 typical dance posture, confers a certain suppleness to the austerity of the rest of the representation. The large, halfopen eyes and the presence of a small beard enhance the ascetic face, which is decorated with scarifi cation marks. The most distinctive feature is the yuu-jimani (“head that commands”) coiffure, an insignia of Teese religious leaders, which is composed of a central crest rising above intricate tresses of hair and terminating in a tail gathered at the nape of the neck. The Appearance of a New Style According to Ontore’s account, when the time came to place other statues in the thilduu, Kou-Jina went to Poyo, near Vala, to solicit the services of Kipume Youl,7 the bestknown Birifor sculptor in the area at the time, who was often engaged by the Birifor of a town called Malba. Being advanced in years, Youl recommended Kou-Jina instead use Wibrika Pale, a Teebo sculptor from the same village. Accepting the commission, Wibrika borrowed important elements and traits from the large statue commemorating Ithe Kambou that the Teese had initially donated, and he incorporated them into the formal conception he had learned from Kipume Youl. Determining an approximate date for this event is important for understanding the subsequent progression of the statues in the Kou thilduu. Fortunately, we have several solid clues. When objects were being collected for the future Poni Museum in Gaoua,8 the elders of Malba village gave French ethnologist Madeleine Père a small fi gure that had been sculpted by a certain “Wike Poyo,” another name Wibrika was known by. It is remembered that this sculptor’s eldest son, Gnemithe Da (also a sculptor), died very old, shortly after the troops of Samori Ture9 had passed through the area in 1898. This information makes it possible to establish a rough date for Wibrika’s birth, putting it at about 1800, and thus to date the works attributed to him to around 1850. Certain facts relating to social organization support this hypothesis. Among the Lobi, no one may hold a position of high responsibility, including positions relating to cults, before reaching social and religious maturity. For a man, that maturity coincides with reaching the status of being the grandfather of a young joro initiate —so approximately forty-seven to fi fty years old. The same general age range holds true for the title of thiteldaar (plural thiteldara), “master sculptor,” which is only earned after he produces thilkotina ancestor fi gures, and in doing so perpetuates the distinctive traits and elements of a particular style. Yet more evidence for this timeline can be gleaned from the genealogical reconstruction of the Kou lineage. This


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