Bamana Boli or Bull Fetish
Boli are used by multiple Bamana (Bambara) secret
“initiation” associations to help accomplish specific goals
delineated by priests, elders and members. These goals
may vary widely and represent a wide variety of subjects
affecting Bamana life, such as the destruction of anti-social
sorcerers, the abolishment of disease or danger, or providing
a bountiful harvest. The objects themselves harbor huge
quantities of energy called nyama, and are activated by
association priests once the specific task is articulated. Only
initiated and trained professionals are capable of activating
these instruments.
Boli or Bull Fetish Figure(detail)
Boli also serve as symbols of the
Bamana universe, perhaps because
they bring together a wide range of esoteric ingredients to make the finished
object potent. These ingredients may include animal bones, vegetable matter,
honey, and pieces of metal and wood. They are mixed with earth in a complex
array of power recipes called daliluw, designed to make them some of the most
powerful objects produced in all of Africa. Boli ultimately become impregnated
with sacrificial materials such as blood, feathers, mashed kola nuts, alcoholic
beverages and millet.
Although Boli are considered magical, secret objects by the Bamana people, it is
somewhat ironic that they are now becoming appreciated by western audiences
as a form of modern art, perhaps because of their abstract appearance. Many
appear to depict animals such as hippopotami or cows. Some may even appear as human beings.
Sometimes, it is impossible to suggest what they might be, which fits perfectly with the Bambara
principle that very powerful things are opaque to human understanding, and only the initiated are
capable of this understanding.