Observed and described for the first time in the 18th century by Louis de Grandpré, the large Punu statues were honored by a sanctuary, the tchiliba. Linked to the Bwiti initiates’ society, these effigies, representing an illustrious ancestor, were placed on a pedestal or in a niche at the back of the consecrated temple. They presided over the dances and ritual ceremonies and helped to discover and repel the spell casters or « soul eaters » who prowled the villages at night.