250510 - AloAlo Gendarme sculpture, funerary stele of Mahafaly - Madagascar.

AloAlo Gendarme sculpture, fragment of funerary stele of Mahafaly from Madagascar.

Size: 41 cm high on stand and 29 cm without stand. 

Stand is including.

This AloAlo sculpture is dated from the first half of the 20th century and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Main part of an AloAlo tombstone of the Mahafaly, 1 gendarme, 29 x 8 cm circa 1945 Tulear region. This AloAlo sculpture comes from a dead pole that is exposed to wind and weather, sometimes rather wobbly and provisional on the box graves of the Mahafaly. There they are usually left alone and thus emphasize the transience of life and tell a little story about the honored deceased. The dry climate preserves the wood for a fairly long time, but the elements leave their mark on the sculptures. Rotten or broken poles are then removed by the family, if they still live in the area. The upper parts (head) of the statue are important, however, and are sometimes cut off and kept or sold. Sometimes a "history rewriting" also takes place by successive family members and fragments of the ancestor poles are cut out, supplemented or destroyed. This also happened here, apparently the face was deliberately cut off. Especially during the colonial period, the gendarmes, as armed and uniformed police forces, had an almost sacred status. What could be more obvious than to place these strange creatures at the very top of the hierarchy and give them the corresponding place on the death stalks. The hard wood used, Menabe, is not rotten or brittle on the inside! However, due to exposure to the elements of nature, it has aged considerably, oxidized and is sometimes overgrown with lichens. The rare rain has washed deep grooves into the wood and there are breaks from the past decades. These are reliable indicators of age that cannot be artificially produced. These genuine AloAlo are an artistic rarity, because the ancestor cult, worldwide only in Madagascar, is a physical expression in these stalks. The export of cultural heritage/antiquities is strictly limited in Madagascar. These old original pieces have been partly in family possession since 1975 and also represent a fruitful investment due to their increasing collection value.

The death steles (AloAlo) are erected by the Mahafaly ethnic group according to ancient rites as a memory of the deceased and as a spiritual task for the next generation. The posts are commissioned according to the instructions of the head of the family and tell of the life or life wishes of the dead. The Mahafaly are not strongly attached to material things, but are very active spiritually/mentally. For them, the soul (Razana) of all people passes into sacred animals after death and then, in several stages, achieves universal unity with the creator god (Andriamanitra). These ancestral beings (usually ibis, zebu, crocodile) are often depicted on the important head part of the AloAlo. The post underneath always shows astrological motifs. These steles are draped on the stone box grave, which is impressive compared to the residential houses, and often surround the central mortuary as guardians and messengers. The many zebu horns attached come from sacrificed cattle and are evidence of the man's rich heritage. The more magnificent a grave, the more respected the family.