This outstanding spirit pot comes to us from the Ga'anda peoples who live in the hills east of the river Gongola and its main tributary, the Hawal, in Nigeria. Ga'anda pottery is generally made by the women of the tribe using a coiling technique. Spirit containers that become the focus for veneration are given sculptured features and are embellished with densely applied raised pellets and bands of pattern. This stately round-bodied vessel presented here represents a community guardian called Mbirhlen'nda and is one of the most abundant and elaborate spirit pots made by the Ga'anda. The body and neck of this example evoke the shape of a Ga'anda water container, but is crowned by an elongated head and a bearded face with a projecting O-shaped mouth. Like many Mbirhlen'nda pots, this one features an axe over the right shoulder, a man's tool that underscores the spirit's connection with human endeavor. This pot has characteristic patterns around the head, chin and chest as well as the densely applied raised pellets on the chest area. Mbirhlen'nda were placed in the center of a shrine with the open mouth squarely facing the entrance. Once a year the pot is removed from the shrine and washed inside and out, and then filled with specially brewed guinea corn beer as part of a ritual called Xombata, which honors the spirits who promote a fruitful harvest.