nomoli

African sculpture

Also known as: pombo, pomtan

Learn about this topic in these articles:

In African art: Mende
…in soapstone and known as nomoli, which they set up in shelters to protect the crop. The figures are similar in style and are thought to be similar in date to ivory spoons, boxes, hunting horns, and salt cellars commissioned in the 16th century by Portuguese traders in the adjacent…
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In Sierra Leone: The arts
…human figures, sometimes distorted, called nomoli—or, in wooden form, pomtan (singular, pombo)—that certainly date earlier than the 16th century and were used probably for ancestor worship or fertility rites. At present they are used for ceremonies to ensure abundance of crops. Containers or rattles are carved from gourds and are…
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