Standing female figure "jo nyeleni"

wood, metal, rest.

"Jo nyeleni" are the property of the "jo", an association to which all initiated men and women of a village community belong and according to whose rules and moral principles social life is strictly regulated.

They are used during "numu jo" initiation performances that take place every seven years. During the performance, the initiate children are "killed" and fully formed men are "reborn" into the community as "children of jo" ("jodenw").