Lot: 382

Auction 103

Two horesmen "putchu guinadji"

Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, Kotoko

Provenance Size Starting price / estimated price
Erwin & Susanne Melchardt, Vienna, Austria 600 EUR
plus 27 % commission, VAT, transport and insurance

a) silver, h: 5.2 cm; b) copper alloy (bronze, brass), h: 4.2 cm; each with base

"Kotoko Horsemen" or "putchu guinadji" as the local population calls them, are talismans produced and used in Chad and in northern Cameroon and likely also in northeastern Nigeria as well as southeast Niger.

Similar to amulets worn around the world they are believed to bring good luck or blessings of the gods. Their main function is to protect those possessed of evil spirits, with the objective of chasing evil spirits away permanently.