Used in ancestral worship rituals, this spectacular abstract, geometric figure, first sculpted in wood before being bound and woven in strips of copper and brass, was created to be a reliquary custodian.
 
 It was mounted on a container holding the bones of important clan ancestors, not only to serve as a guardian, but also meant to bestow protection and fertility upon the Kota peoples (Bakota). These are commonly used and hung in homes to keep communication between the past, and the present.