Jo is a term that connotes 'the secret sworn to upon an altar'... by extension, an initiating society, a cult; the secret; to be right, from where dyo dyo, 'truth,' that which is rigorously exact; wash, clense and by extension purify.
More than these concepts, Jo practices are organized around a certain number of fundamental ideals which the initiation candidate puts into practice or undergoes during the rites. Every 'man of Jo', adept of Jo, must make each of the ideas set forth his reason for living. He must defend them with his own life. Jo initially belonged to the women so the origin of the Jo cult establishes the precedence of the femine Jo, which is the basis of Jo's power.
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Masque en metal du Jo - Bambara / Bamana - Mali - Masques africains 
