Moba Shrine Figure Togo

The Moba people, residing in the northern regions of Togo, Burkina Faso, and parts of northern Ghana, create figures called "tchitcheri sakab" prescribed by diviners for placement on shrines serving individuals, clans, and villages. These figures represent clan ancestors and are placed in tingban shrines dedicated to the earth. Varying in size, larger examples are often partially buried in the earth by the shrine, bearing names of ancestors and sometimes adorned with clothing or miniature farming tools. Carved from light-colored wood, Moba figures exhibit high abstraction, lacking facial features and showing minimal sexual identity with basic male and female genitalia. The absence of figure carving among the Moba over the last century is reminiscent of similar figures found among the Lobi, where they are also buried near family shrines.

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