Set of 3 decorative lemur head sculptures.

According to legend, a member of the royal family in Madagascar fled the oppressor, taking with him a pair of lemurs to which he was very attached. The royal person is sacred, and everything that belongs to him, animals and things, is also sacred and remains so after his death. Thus, in three Sakalava coastal villages, living lemurs are recognized as sacred by the local populations because they are the descendants of the mythical pair of lemurs that belonged to the royal family.