Krifi
Krifi are spirits of the dead among the Mende of southern Sierra Leone, known especially through nomoli stone figures. Atherton and Kalous argue that nomoli were originally ancestor figures; after they were lost, stolen or forgotten, they came to be regarded as material representations of krifi. The "monstrous" appearance of many nomoli may reflect how some krifi were imagined, or may show heads of secret societies. The figures are still used as "swearing" devices and to help increase agricultural yields.