Authentic Large African Wooden Fish Puppet – Bozo People – Mali

Wood, paint. Cm. 72,0 long (28.35″). Grams 1122,5 (39.60 pz.).

It is carved in one piece of hollowed wood; it is provided with a mechanism that enables the side fins to move when you pull the string.

The Bozo are a Mande ethnic group located predominantly along the Niger River in Mali. The name Bozo is thought to derive from Bambara bo-so “straw house”; the people accept it as referring to the whole of the ethnic group but use more specific clan names such as Sorogoye, Hain, and Tieye themselves. They are famous for their fishing and
known as ‘masters of the river’. The Bozo people culture and artwork revolve around the Niger River and these fishes are used as puppets and masks on water rituals and ceremonies.

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