Female Figure - African Dogon Wood Sculpture, Central northern Bandiagara escarpment, Mopti Region, Mali, Early 17th Century

Figures like this one were placed on ancestral altars as links to a deceased person’s soul. It is likely that this figure represents a Nommo, one of the first created beings, who, according to Dogon mythology, had a combination of male and female traits.

Source: brooklynmuseum.org