This stunning sculpture is an exceptional work both for the subject it depicts as well as the detailed artistry of the depiction. We are presented with a man who squats upon a circular disk base. His knees are bent and his thighs are parallel with the base, including his protruding buttocks. His torso is extremely elongated and covered with intricate decorative scarification along his swollen belly and the back of his shoulders. Consisting of serrated and hash mark patterns, such scarification was considered a symbol of a persons rank within society and a sign of beauty. His chest is fairly rounded, and his nipples are clearly defined as well as his navel. Oftentimes, sculptors would carve figures with hermaphroditic tendencies to suggest the spiritual force of the subject. The man holds his sinuous arms to his sides while his head is tilted slightly to the side, raised atop a long cylindrical neck. However, the most important feature of this sculpture is his face. Rendered in a typical Dogon fashion, including a flat chin and small pursed mouth, his face is significant not for what it features but for what it lacks: eyes. This sculpture most probably depicts a blind man. In many African societies, the blind, as well as those suffering from numerous other deformations, were considered to be imbedded with a heightened spiritual power and often became wise and influential shamans. This blind man is likely a shaman, a suggestion reinforced by the intricate pattern of his scarification and by his prominent and ambiguous sexuality. Clearly, this individual possesses a powerful magic and can communicate with the spirit world, thereby influencing the lives of the villagers, for Africans believed that their deceased ancestors continued to play an active role in their daily lives. Thus, this sculpture wows us both by its tremendous elegance and beauty as well as its spiritual and religious powers.