African Masks chess set

The bronze pieces of this chess set depict unknown deities and strange animals. This exotic African chess set was gifted to the USSR Chess Federation by visitors from Burkina Faso (then the Republic of Upper Volta) in 1972. It remains a mystery to anthropologists and cultural scientists. Who do the pieces represent? Why are humans, animals, and deities (or perhaps spirits) placed side by side on the chessboard? Why is the tallest figure a boat with mysterious “antennas”? Nothing is explained, and the mystery continues to fascinate.