West African Stool or Side Table, Dan People

In previous features we have noted that African tribes do not make cabinets, desks, dining tables, or armoires, but instead – seats – and lots of them. It seems that 98% of African furniture is composed of stools, the other 2% being beds. Each tribe usually has its own style, and within any individual tribal style there appears to be an almost unlimited repertoire. Each piece has its own fingerprint, if you will, which to the informed eye often reveals a compelling story.

Stool or Side Table

Featured is a stool from the

Dan People, who reside in Liberia, West Africa. The Dan have a relatively simple world view – life is divided into two distinct halves, the realm of the humans, called the village, and the realm of the spirits, called the forest, but crossing between village and forest isn’t always so simple. Both people and spirits need to be appeased for the two realms to stand united. One powerful spirit, called Go, is the unifying force, the peacemaker between the two worlds.

Look closely at this stool: Situated between the village - the base - and the forest - the seat - sits Go, a patient, lone sentinel, calmly and quietly watching, conciliatory, placating both worlds to keep the peace, mediating when necessary, and all the while pondering the mystery of its position.

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