Shrine object, Undetermined Group; Eastern Tanzania
Wood, beads, calabash, cloth, sacrificial material;
H. 18 1/2"
In eastern Tanzania a number of related
ethnic groups produce calabashes with carved stoppers
to hold oils for personal adornment. These containers
may become empowered with significance as objects
that were worn regularly by an individual close
to the body. In death, these calabashes are in some
cases enshrined as a means of honoring the dead
and focusing the powers of the deceased into a tangible
point that can be utilized as a charm. In the case
of this unusual assemblage, the ancestral charge
has been placed upon a miniature stool, which imitates
the large chairs that titled elders may sit upon,
not coincidentally themselves symbols of lineage.
The Gelbard example is a visual reaffirmation of
the dignitary in life becoming the ancestor in death.
The tangible part of the ancestor, the calabash
that he or she wore, in this case appears to be
almost protected by the stool. It is possible, then,
that it is no accident that this grouping appears
to be a maternity figure at first glance; indeed,
the ethnic groups of this region are matrilineal.
The heavy patina of use on the calabash and stopper
as well as the diversity of surfaces on various
parts of the "stool" attest to the age
of this set and the care that was lavished upon
it.
