Statues of this genre are used ritually by the Bamana people of Mali. Typically it would be the focus of what they call a "sacrifice" in which offerings of various substances - like the blood of a chicken that was killed for this purpose - would be made in honor of a spirit which this figure represents. This figure, of a female with exaggerated breasts, typically representational of the promotion of fertility, is very characteristic of the genre. This figure measures: 30 1/2 x 7 x 7 1/2" (77 x 18 x 19 cm).