Statues of this genre are used ritually by the Bamana 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, of two women back to back, is an unusual version of an otherwise relatively common Bamana statue.

This figure measures:
28 1/4 x 6 x 5 1/2" (72 x 15 x 14 cm)