The core of this bocio is a standing female figure carved in wood, but several other objects have been affixed to it. Bottles are fastened to the front and the back of the figure, a metal disk is nailed into the head, and skulls of a reptile, a bird, and a small mammal are bound to it. The bottles are plugged and may have once contained potent substances prescribed by a diviner. The process of binding objects together is an important component of empowering the bocio figure. To further "energize" it, offerings -- which may include corn meal, blood, saliva, and urine -- are poured over it. Not only do the addition of these materials make the object more powerful, but this augmentation continually transforms the bocio's appearance as a work of art.

There are several types of bocio figures, including those associated with divination (Fa), and other types with royalty, with sorcery and anti-sorcery, and with the gods (vodun). All but the royal bocio retained their importance in the lives of Fon and Ewe people from Dahomey and present-day Togo. The dispersion of these peoples during the slave trade created a creolized version of bo in Haiti and later among Haitian ex-slaves in the United States. Their cloth dolls performed protective and "attack" functions similar to carved bocio figures, and like them, were closely associated with the dead and with cemeteries. In Haiti it was the manbo (mother of bo) priestess and the bokor (knowledgeable in bo) sorcerer who, along with the hungan, were responsible for their manufacture and for activating them ritually.]]> Divine Intervention: African Art and Religion, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 5 - December 4, 2011]]>
The core of this bocio is a standing female figure carved in wood, but several other objects have been affixed to it. Bottles are fastened to the front and the back of the figure, a metal disk is nailed into the head, and skulls of a reptile, a bird, and a small mammal are bound to it. The bottles are plugged and may have once contained potent substances prescribed by a diviner. The process of binding objects together is an important component of empowering the bocio figure. To further "energize" it, offerings -- which may include corn meal, blood, saliva, and urine -- are poured over it. Not only do the addition of these materials make the object more powerful, but this augmentation continually transforms the bocio's appearance as a work of art.

There are several types of bocio figures, including those associated with divination (Fa), and other types with royalty, with sorcery and anti-sorcery, and with the gods (vodun). All but the royal bocio retained their importance in the lives of Fon and Ewe people from Dahomey and present-day Togo. The dispersion of these peoples during the slave trade created a creolized version of bo in Haiti and later among Haitian ex-slaves in the United States. Their cloth dolls performed protective and "attack" functions similar to carved bocio figures, and like them, were closely associated with the dead and with cemeteries. In Haiti it was the manbo (mother of bo) priestess and the bokor (knowledgeable in bo) sorcerer who, along with the hungan, were responsible for their manufacture and for activating them ritually.]]> Divine Intervention: African Art and Religion, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 5 - December 4, 2011]]>
This highly unusual bocio consists of two kneeling female figures, the lower one carved from wood, holding her breasts in an attitude of supplication, and the upper one cast in brass and proffering a large calabash-like bowl. They are bound together (both physically and psychologically) by a cloth strap wrapped over the legs of the top figure and under the chin of the lower one. The process of binding objects together is an important component of empowering the bocio figure. To further "energize" it, offerings -- which may include corn meal, blood, saliva, and urine -- are poured over it. Not only does the addition of these materials make the object more powerful, but this augmentation continually transforms the bocio's appearance as a work of art. The lower figure's face is obscured by sacrificial matter, and her mouth is sealed by a long iron chain, thereby blocking the ability to speak. Considered to be a potentially serious weapon, the act of speech is silenced, controlled by another. Iron attachments are often associated with Gu, the deity of iron and war, and are meant to drive away evil associated with physical force.

There are several types of bocio figures, including those associated with divination (Fa), and other types with royalty, with sorcery and anti-sorcery, and with the gods (vodun). All but the royal bocio retained their importance in the lives of Fon and Ewe people from Dahomey and present-day Togo whose dispersion due to the slave trade created a creolized version of bo in Haiti and later among Haitian ex-slaves in the United States. There cloth dolls performed protective and "attack" functions similar to carved bocio figures, and like them, were closely associated with the dead and with cemeteries. In Haiti it was the manbo (mother of bo) priestess and the bokor (knowledgeable in bo) priest who along with the hungan priest were responsible for their manufacture and for activating them ritually.]]>
This highly unusual bocio consists of two kneeling female figures, the lower one carved from wood, holding her breasts in an attitude of supplication, and the upper one cast in brass and proffering a large calabash-like bowl. They are bound together (both physically and psychologically) by a cloth strap wrapped over the legs of the top figure and under the chin of the lower one. The process of binding objects together is an important component of empowering the bocio figure. To further "energize" it, offerings -- which may include corn meal, blood, saliva, and urine -- are poured over it. Not only does the addition of these materials make the object more powerful, but this augmentation continually transforms the bocio's appearance as a work of art. The lower figure's face is obscured by sacrificial matter, and her mouth is sealed by a long iron chain, thereby blocking the ability to speak. Considered to be a potentially serious weapon, the act of speech is silenced, controlled by another. Iron attachments are often associated with Gu, the deity of iron and war, and are meant to drive away evil associated with physical force.

There are several types of bocio figures, including those associated with divination (Fa), and other types with royalty, with sorcery and anti-sorcery, and with the gods (vodun). All but the royal bocio retained their importance in the lives of Fon and Ewe people from Dahomey and present-day Togo whose dispersion due to the slave trade created a creolized version of bo in Haiti and later among Haitian ex-slaves in the United States. There cloth dolls performed protective and "attack" functions similar to carved bocio figures, and like them, were closely associated with the dead and with cemeteries. In Haiti it was the manbo (mother of bo) priestess and the bokor (knowledgeable in bo) priest who along with the hungan priest were responsible for their manufacture and for activating them ritually.]]> Image: 17 3/4 x 15 in. (45.1 x 38.1 cm)]]>