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Photographs © Tim Hamill
DAN, WUNKIRMIAN FEAST LADLES, Liberia and Ivory Coast
Large ceremonial ladles are carved to honor a particular Dan woman from each village quarter who has distinguished herself among her fellow women by generosity and hospitality. At special feasts, she dances with the ladle and directs the distribution of rice to those assembled. An elderly honoree passes the ladle and the honor on to the one she sees fit as a successor. This page of spoons shows some of the less common type, in which the handle takes the form of hips and legs. The form honors women as the source of food and life itself.
Despite their appearance, these Dan spoon figures show no evidence of age or use and were probably made to be sold.
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