Mossi doll. Piece over 50 years old.

The term "biiga" means in Mooré, the language of the Mossi, "child" in the sense of an "individual who has not reached physiological maturity" or "descendant". Although called "child" (biiga) and treated as such by little girls, these figurines visually reproduce a woman on a small scale: a young girl by the hair and abdominal scarifications, but also a wife by the deformation of the breasts, specifically a mother. These figures are therefore as much a representation of the child as the image of the woman to come or even her future offspring. Although the biiga are women, the children give them a boy's or girl's name, dress them, wash them, feed them, carry them on their backs, make them jump on their stretched out legs...like a real baby. Sometimes offered by one of the parents, the biiga, then carefully preserved, is taken by the young bride to her husband because it is considered a stimulant for pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur, the sterile wife will acquire another as a support for the fertilizing forces. According to Suzanne Lallemand, the biiga – as the baby's double protector – receives first aid: once the umbilical cord has been cut, the washing of the newborn comes after that of the wooden child, as well as the massage with butter of shea. The figurine is then laid down near the mother before her infant is placed there. As for the first drop of mother's milk, it is reserved for the statuette before the child suckles its mother. Later the statuette will be carried one last time on the back.