Female memorial post or grave marker "sunduk"

iron wood, lichen growth, traces of weathering, base The splendidly ornamented "sunduk" serve as ornaments for the graves of the deceased. They are generally carved in wood, sometimes in stone and more rarely in coral. They were placed at the head of the dead facing Mecca, which means towards the North-West. They are a harmonious blend of ancestral beliefs and customs with the orthodox Sunni islam precepts imported by arabian merchants and missionaries from the 10th century.