The remarkable arms spiraling around this figure resemble squid tentacles, or possibly some variety of seaweed. However, this did not originate close to the ocean, but in the remote, semiarid mountain regions of northeast Nigeria. There, rain is a life-or-death matter, and for the Mumuye people, the local “master of rain” is the most important person in the village. Carved male figures like this were—and perhaps still are, in pockets untouched by world religions—essential to secret divination and rainmaking rituals. The notches on the elegantly curving arms indicate small scars, purposefully cut to create designs in the skin.

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