241245 - AloAlo Zebu head sculpture, fragment of funerary stele of Mahafaly

AloAlo head sculpture, fragment of funerary stele of Mahafaly sacred Zebu from Madagascar.
Size: 29 cm x 15 cm x 10 cm.

This Zebu sculpture is dated from the mid of the 20th century and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

A well-preserved specimen with complete horns.
The death steles (AloAlo) are erected by the Mahafaly ethnic group according to ancient rites as a memory of the deceased and as a spiritual task for the next generation. The posts are commissioned according to the instructions of the head of the family and tell of the life or life wishes of the dead. The Mahafaly are not strongly attached to material things, but are very active spiritually/mentally. For them, the soul (Razana) of all people passes into sacred animals after death and then, in several stages, achieves universal unity with the creator god (Andriamanitra). These ancestral beings (usually ibis, zebu, crocodile) are often depicted on the important head part of the AloAlo. The post underneath always shows astrological motifs. These steles are draped on the stone box grave, which is impressive compared to the residential houses, and often surround the central mortuary as guardians and messengers. The many zebu horns attached come from sacrificed cattle and are evidence of the man's rich heritage. The more magnificent a grave, the more respected the family.
Very often a zebu (omby) is depicted as the headboard. In the dry south, these cattle are both the livelihood of families and are also a status symbol. The continued existence of the clans depends on the livestock, which is another reason why they are revered as sacred.
The dry climate preserves the wood for a long time, but the elements leave their mark on the sculptures. Rotted or broken posts are then removed by the family, if they are still resident. The upper parts (head) of the statue are important, however, and are sometimes cut off and kept or even sold. Sometimes a "rewriting of history" takes place by subsequent family members and fragments of the ancestral steles are cut out, added to or destroyed.
The hardwood Menabe used is not rotten or brittle on the inside! However, due to being outside, the surface has become heavily weathered, oxidized and overgrown with lichen. The rare rain has washed deep grooves into the wood and there have been breaks in the wood over the last few decades. These are reliable indicators of age that cannot be artificially created.
The real AloAlo are an artistic rarity because the ancestor cult, which originates from Papa New Guinea, only found physical expression in these steles in Madagascar.