Standing female statue with ring-bound neck of the Songye people

In contrast to the many 'mankishi', sculptures that were used in the context of ancestor commemoration are rare among the Songye. Even though it is difficult to discover the figure's function merely on the basis of its formal traits, the absense of cavities in the body in which 'magic' substances could be introduced, as well as other external additions and the gleaming dark brown patina -- the result of the applications of palm oil -- lead to the assumption that this is an ancestor figure.