“Those ceremonial spoons, called Wa Ke Mia ("spoon associated with feasts"), are the badges of prestige of the Wunkirle – the most hospitable woman in a village or village quarter – and they embody her talents and her generosity. The largeness of the spoon’s receptacle demonstrates the Wunkirle’s generosity, as it reveals the amount of rice she is willing to give. The wide bowl is said to represent "the rice-filled womb of the spoon", i.e. of the spirit it reifies. This individual spirit will obviously help the most hospitable woman accomplish her magnanimous and generous tasks.
Plastically speaking, those works reflect the fundamental features of Dan aesthetics: what with their half-bent legs, their robust and shapely calves, the delicacy of the deeply carved integumentary motives that are enhanced by kaolin highlights and glistening dark patina, they make up beautifully balanced sculptures.”
