SB.1.145 
 Gravepost 
 Large funeral pole. Giriama. Kenya. No 105. XIV.I.11. Original list: "Giriama. Gravepost. Wood, aluminum. Woman, girl". Light wooden monoxyle post (muhuhu?), Vaguely anthropomorphic, cut into three distinct sections: a circular head in the upper part, a thin and slender trunk in the middle part then a kind of base, shorter, delimited, in the lower part, by a bilateral notch very typical of this kind of figures. The trunk, carved in bas-relief, is interspersed with intricate triangular patterns and also has hourglass-shaped incisions. The head displays expressive features; two large round eyes in iron plate, with marked pupils then two hollowed out rectangles to signify the nose and the mouth. Memorial posts of this type were erected to accommodate and represent the spirit of the deceased. "The morturary poles, called Kigangu by the Giryama and other peoples between Malindi and the Tanzania border, are usually carved for an important male member of the tribe, but poles are also carved to commemorate female witch doctors" (Donovan. 2005 [1980] : 193). "The elders of the Giryama in Kenya (...) pass through monthes, or even years, of special ceremonies to learn the tribal secrets that entitle them to take part in the councils of the 'Kaya'. At death, a tribal elder is buried under a grass-roofed shrine, usually within his own home compound which contains a 'Kigangu'. A similar post is also placed in the Kaya so that fellow elders may invoke his memory. Should the family move from their home after the death of the elder, the original Kigangu is left behind, but a simplified replica may be carved and erected at their new location. This smaller replica is called 'Kibao' ". (Donovan. 2005 [1980]: 193). See "Kaya Fungo effigies"; "Giryama kigangu"; "Gyriama kibao and koma" in J. Adamson. 1967: 289; 293 Cf. Lagat, Hudson. 2006: 60-61 (file + bibliography) 
 Category (s) Sculpture / 3D work 
 Kigango vernacular; kibao; koma 
 Material (s) Wood, aluminum [wood, aluminum] 
 Location (s) Kenya 
 Centimeter Size (s) 
 Length: 170 
 Width: 18 
 Height: 8