Sika Blawa

Rare Baule (Baoulé) prestige figures called “Sika Blawa” from Côte d’Ivoire are carved of wood with fine relief covered with hammered gold foil and are occasionally adorned with strings of beads and small textile coverings. The figures are reported by Garrard and Alain-Michel Boyer to sometimes serve the function like the more common wooden “spirit mate” figures which are carved after consultation with a diviner and lives with the owner, but both Ravenhill and Volgel deny this. Every Baule had a spirit mate in the hereafter- a wife “blolo ba” or husband “blolo bian”. “Regardless of the Sika Blawa figure’s function, “Boyer states that the ubiquitous gesture of the hands on the belly “signifies first and foremost peace and unity” and is a gesture “ made by certain spirits to show their respect or deference when they meet humans” (D. Ross). As part of a family treasure passed down through generations, these showpiece figures were carefully guarded by Baule notables and occasionally displayed publicly in honor of a member of society.