This striking female figure represents one of
Africa’s most enduring and charming sculptural
traditions. It was carved by a diviner of the
Yoruba group, at the request of a mother
mourning the loss of one of her twins. This is a
particularly powerful example. It is more
aggressive in appearance than is usual, with a
frowning face, deep scars, a dark coiffure (or
piece of headwear) and a stolid stance. The crest
was hatched before being painted, matching a
series of scars around the navel, the marks on
the cheeks and the hatched-design loincloth.
The abdomen is protuberant, perhaps reflecting
pregnancy and thus symbolising fertility, and the
figure is further decorated with three strands of
trade beads around the neck and waist. The main
body is not painted but has use-wear burnish.
The Yoruba peoples of Nigeria have what is
probably the longest extant artistic tradition in
Africa. The nation state is comprised of
numerous subsections that were joined
historically by the rise and collapse of the Ife
(12th to 15th centuries) and Benin (13th to 19th
centuries) polities. Each of the sub-kingdoms –
including Oyo, Ijebu and smaller units towards
the west – had their heyday, and are loosely
united through language and culture, although
they still retain a measure of independence in
terms of their artistic traditions.
The Yoruba are sedentary, agriculturist and
hierarchical, and are ruled by hereditary kings
known as Obas. Access to the supernatural world
is supervised by a very complex arrangement of
priests and spiritual intermediaries, who straddle
the cosmological border between the tangible
realm of the living (aye) and the invisible realm
of the spirits and the hereafter (orun). The
creator of the world is Olodumare – the source of
all ase (life force) – and his spiritual minions
include all manner of spirits, gods and ancestors
who can be appealed to or appeased through
human intermediaries. Most Yoruban artistic
heritage is designed to thwart evil spirits, and to
placate or honour those that bring good fortune
to the populace.
Yoruba populations have the world’s highest
prevalence of twinning (45/1000 live births –
compared to 8/1000 in the US), and this fact has
been woven into their mythology, culture and art.
Twins are promulgated by Shango, and are
regarded as auspicious. However, the mortality
rate of twins is very high. According to Yoruba
convention, twins share a single soul. If one
should die, the spirits may take away the second
twin as well. To avoid this, the babalawo (diviner)
carves a figure of the same sex as the deceased
child: this figure is known as an ere ibeji. The
mother must wash, dress, feed and anoint the
wooden figure as if it were alive.
The appearance of the figures depends entirely
upon the skill of the carver, as only the sex of
the individual is specifically determined. The
specific social history of the area, and its
contacts with other areas or cultures, does
determine the final appearance of the figures.
For example, the hair of some individuals is
rubbed with indigo dye (or paint, in this case),
and the bodies with red camwood powder;
specific styles and details such as scarifications
betray the origin of most examples. Most ibeji
are naked, but socially-elevated families often
wish to manifest their wealth through dressing
the figure in ornate clothing or jewellery such as
trade beads.
The current piece commemorates the dead
daughter of a grieving family. This is a beautiful
yet poignant piece of African art.
