12 - Champion farmer’s staff (tefalipitya)

Champion farmer’s staff (tefalipitya) with a female figure at the top Wood, original honey- and brown-colored patina, signs of wear. Senufo, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. 136 cm The staff is crowned with a female figure whose slender arms are set apart from the body. The elongated silhouette and simplified features lend this sculpture a understated elegance. Among the Senufo, canes known as tefalipitya honored the best farmers during hoeing competitions held during the farming season. Planted in the ground near the competitors, they celebrated their endurance and the importance of collective effort. The female figure evokes the pitya, an unmarried young woman embodying an ideal of beauty and the promise of a future union. Documentary references: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston, Champion Cultivator’s Staff (Tefalipitya), Senufo, inv. M84-112, 108.8 cm: female figure seated on a stool, a reference to the staff’s function. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Champion Cultivator Staff, Tefalipitya, Senufo, inv. 91.1437.