Statues of this genre are used ritually by the Dogon people of Mali. Typically it would be the focus of what they call a "sacrifice" in which offerings of various substances - like the blood of a chicken that was killed for this purpose - would be made in honor of a spirit which this figure represents. 

This figure measures:
20 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 3 3/4" (52 x 10 x 10 cm).