This unusual piece was made by the Bambara/Bamana of Mali. The representation is unusual and has been suggested to indicate an individual suffering from poliomyelitis. The reason for this attribution is the extreme shortness of the legs. However, polio usually manifests itself as spindly, misshapen and differently-sized limbs as we as being small, so this attribution cannot be absolutely certain. The torso is very long, with extremely pronounced breasts. The right arm is truncated, and the left hands to the waist. The neck is columnar with a tall head, rendered in the traditional, blocky Bamana manner. The head is capped with an ornate, conical piece of headwear.
The Bambara/Bamana is one of the largest groups in Mali (about 2.5 million) and lives in a savannah grassland area that contrasts strongly with the Dogon heartland. Their linguistic heritage indicates that they are part of the Mande group, although their origins go back perhaps as far as 1500 BC. The Mande-speaking Songhai empire dissolved in the 1600s, and many Mande speakers spread out along the Nigeria River Basin. The Bamana empire arose from these remnant populations in around 1740, and reached its imperial maximum in the 1780s under the rule of N’golo Diarra.
Their society is Mande-like overall, with patrilineal descent and a nobility/vassal caste system. Their complex history is echoed in the systematics of indigenous art traditions. There are four main mask forms, related to various secret societies. The are also known for guandousou/gwantigi queen/king figures, and smaller “attendants” known as guannyeni. Other forms include the famous Chi-Wara headcrest, which was used to encourage good harvests, and heavily encrusted zoomorphic ‘Boli’ figures. Everyday items include iron staffs, door-locks, wooden puppets and equestrian figures, which double as accessories for male initiation ceremonies.
If this does represent a polio victim, it is extremely rare. Even without this, however, it is an unusual and impressive piece of Bamana art.