Old Lobi Talisman – Komé / Thungbubiel – Burkina Faso

Animal Bone and Leather. Weight: 53.8 g (1.90 oz); Height: 10.0 cm (3.94″) × Width: 4.9 cm (1.93″). Wonderful mahogany Patina.

This pendant, named “Komé”, was traditionally worn by great hunters initiated into the Bâba cult. It served as a powerful protective amulet, shielding hunters from the force and revenge of the souls—called khélé—of certain slaughtered animals. Without these talismans, hunters or their families were believed to risk lethal diseases, snake bites, madness, or even suicide.

The pendant is also known as “Thungbubiel”, literally meaning “elephant pipe”.

References for similar examples:

– Daniela Bognolo, Images d’Afrique et Sciences sociales, Ed. Karthala-Orstom, 1993, p. 329

– Angela Fisher, Africa Adorned, p. 143

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