Anthropomorphic figure with raised arms

As indicated by the sacrificial coating, the statue was once an altar figure. Tellem Culture developed and thrived along the Bandiagara Escarpment between the 11th and 16th centuries, until the arrival of the Dogon. In Dogon sculpture, the figure with arms raised to the sky usually represents a rain prayer, but may also symbolize an act of penance or a dance to spell away evil powers.