According to the Baule, all people have a spirit spouse who they married in the spiritual world (blolo) before being born into the physical world. a female spirit spouse is called blolo bia, while the male spirit spouse is termed blolo bian (5). The spouse follows the person into the physical realm when they are born, and can greatly impact the life of their spouse on earth, as well as spread good fortune to his or her children. Ultimately, the spirit spouse and its figurative representations reflect the beauty of the marital bond between a man and a woman, and also represent fertility and fecundity (1).

Although spirit spouse figures are often carved to incorporate Baule beauty ideals, sculptural form is unimportant to the spirit spouse's function within a person’s life. As susan Vogel explains, the Baule “were only marginally concerned with the physical form of the object” (1). These figures are carved with the purpose of pleasing the individual’s spouse in the spirit world, and often a diviner will prescribe a figure to be commissioned and a shrine to be set up if difficulties have arisen in an individual’s life. Thus, all baule individuals have a spirit spouse, but they do not necessarily have a spirit spouse figure. once it has been determined that a person should have a spirit spouse figure commissioned, a local artist is called in to carve the figure. wood is the primary material used for spirit figures, and occasionally beads, paint, and other ornamental elements are added to the figure. Spirit spouse figures can range from quite basic to extremely detailed and elaborate, depending on the amount of money one wishes to spend (1).