Boy's head

The Upper Guinea Coast is a region of modern Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia distinguished by the occurrence of carvings made in soapstone. The figurines usually measure 7.5-15 centimetres and depict human figures. There is also a smaller group of carved heads on massive pedestal-like necks, known by the Mende term maha yafa (singular mahei yafeista), literally translated as spirits of rulers. Their common feature is a large head on which bulbous eyes are set, a massive nose and ears protruding back in a C-like shape. The stone heads often feature an elaborate hairstyle, which is sometimes convex and sometimes presented in the form of flat incisions. The mahei yafeista presented here depicts the head of a human figure with a distinctive hairstyle in the form of small, slightly rounded cones. The braiding of hairstyles among the agricultural peoples of Sierra Leone is not only connected with aesthetic aspects, it also has a symbolic meaning, connected with the cultivation of land, its cultivation and harvesting.

Katarzyna Findlik-Gawron