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Igbo art. Igbo art (Igbo: Ǹkà Igbo) is any piece of visual art originating from the Igbo people. The Igbo produce a wide variety of art including traditional figures, masks, artifacts and textiles, plus works in metals such as bronze. Artworks from the Igbo have been found from as early as 9th century with the bronze artifacts found at Igbo Ukwu.
- Overview
- Ibibio
- Ekoi
- Fulani
- Hausa
- Nupe
- Other groups in northern Nigeria
On both sides of the Niger, but mainly to the east, live the Igbo. Traditionally they have lived in small and often isolated settlements scattered through the forest. Only on the northern and western edges of the area, under influence from Igala and Benin, are hereditary rulers found. In Igbo society there is strong social pressure toward individual distinction, and men can move upward through successive grades by demonstrating their achievements and their generosity. One of the traditional representations of this was the ikenga, that part of oneself enabling personal achievement, with cult figures representing the attributes of distinction.
The lack of overall centralization among the Igbo-speaking peoples has been conducive to the development of a great variety of art styles and cultural practices. The earliest-known sculpture from Igboland is from the village of Igbo Ukwu, where the grave of a man of distinction and a ritual store dating from the 9th century ce contained both chased copper objects and elaborate castings of leaded bronze. The earliest artistic castings from sub-Saharan Africa, these pieces consist of ritual vessels and other ceremonial objects with intricate surface decoration, often small animals and insects represented in the round.
A very great variety of masks are found among the Igbo. The masks, of wood or fabric, are employed in a variety of dramas: social satires, sacred rituals (for ancestors and invocation of the gods), initiation, second burials, and public festivals—which now include Christmas and Independence Day. Some masks appear at only one festival, but the majority appear at many or all. Best known are those of the Northern Igbo Mmo society, which represents the spirits of deceased maidens and their mothers with masks symbolizing beauty. Among the Southern Igbo, the Ekpe society, introduced from the Cross River area, uses contrasting masks to represent the maiden spirit and the elephant spirit, the latter representing ugliness and aggression and the former representing beauty and peacefulness. A similar contrast is found in their Okorosia masks, which correspond to the Mmo of the Northern Igbo. The Eastern Igbo are best known for masquerades associated with the Iko okochi harvest festival, in which the forms of the masks are determined by tradition, though the content of the play varies from year to year. Stock characters include Mbeke, the European; Mkpi, the he-goat; and Mba, which appear in pairs, one representing a boy dressed as a girl mimicking the behaviour of a girl, the other representing the girl being satirized.
Most impressive are the ijele masks of the Northern Igbo, which are 12 feet (366 cm) high. Consisting of platforms 6 feet (183 cm) in diameter, supporting tiers of figures made of coloured cloth and representing everyday scenes, they honour the dead to ensure the continuity and well-being of the community.
Among the oldest sculptures of tropical Africa are several hundred ancestor figures, called ekpu, of the Ibibio coastal trade centre of Oron, some of which are thought to date from the late 18th century. They are bearded figures 3 to 4 feet (90 to 120 cm) high and are so individual as to suggest portraiture, despite their schematic style. Oron is o...
The Ekoi peoples (Anyang, Boki, Ejagham, Keaka, and Yako) are best known for their large skin-covered masks, which have two or even three faces, and for their smaller headpieces, which represent a head or an entire figure. The headpieces and masks have metal teeth, inlaid eyes, and frequently pegs to represent hair, which, alternatively, may be car...
The Fulani are in origin nomadic pastoralists who range from Senegal to the Cameroon grasslands. They are particularly known for their body decoration (see below Personal decoration) and for their engraved milk gourds. In addition, in Mali settled groups of Fulani artists work as goldsmiths, leatherworkers, blacksmiths, weavers, and potters.
Northern Nigeria has long been dominated by the Muslim Hausa, who since the 19th century have been ruled by Fulani emirs. For centuries their buildings have been decorated inside with molded and painted low-relief decorations, which have more recently been applied to the exteriors. Both decorative and of a high technical standard are their crafts: ...
The Nupe have been Muslim for some centuries and are best known for their weaving, embroidery, beadmaking, wood carving, and sheet metalwork. They have produced many doors carved in low relief in a blend of decorative designs. Carved and painted masks are made for the elo, a purely secular performance intended only to entertain (nowadays held on the Prophet’s birthday). The elo mask has a human face with a motif (sometimes a human figure) rising above it, flanked with stylized horns. The gugu masquerader wears a cloth mask decorated with cowrie shells, but sometimes Yoruba masks are used. The ndako gboya appears to be indigenous; a spirit that affords protection from witches, it is controlled by a small secret society that cleanses communities by invitation. The mask consists of a tall tube of white cotton supported inside on a bamboo pole about 12 feet (366 cm) long.
That Nupe art should have been influenced by the Yoruba is not surprising. Yoruba live among the Nupe, and there are bronzes in the Nupe villages of Tada and Jebba—one of them apparently an Ife work and another in a more recent Yoruba style. Others of this group, which include the largest castings ever made in sub-Saharan Africa, share features with Benin sculpture and have other elements that are widely distributed in time and space on the lower Niger. Nupe tradition says these sculptures were taken from Idah, the Igala capital, in the early 16th century. Many were probably already ancient, but nothing is known of ancient Igala bronze casting.
There is a great diversity of sculptural tradition among peoples inhabiting the Niger and Benue valleys, the mountainous regions around the Jos Plateau in the centre of the area, and Adamawa to the east. This is altogether an area of astonishing diversity. Some of the better-known traditions include those of the Igala, the Idoma, the Afo, the Tiv, ...
The people of Igbo-Ukwu, ancestors of present-day Igbo, were the earliest smithers of copper and its alloys in West Africa, working the metal through hammering, bending, twisting, and incising. They are likely among the earliest groups of West Africans to employ the lost-wax casting techniques in the production of bronze sculptures. Oddly ...
Double Egg Pendant from Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria, c. 9th–11th century C.E., leaded bronze, 8 ½ inches (National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria) Even if exact interpretations remain elusive, it’s clear that Igbo-Ukwu artists incorporated complex symbolism in their works of art. An excellent example of this layered symbolism is an elaborate Double Egg ...
Igbo Art is known for various types of masquerades, masks, outfits (symbolizing people), animals and abstract conceptions. Igbo art is also known for its bronze castings found in the town of Igbo Ukwu from the 9th century. [8] Igbo art is any body of visual art that originates from Igbo people. Igbo culture is a visual art and culture.
Aug 2, 2023 · One of the most fascinating aspects of Nigerian art is the Igbo Ukwu art, which showcases the creativity and craftsmanship of the Igbo people. This ancient art form, characterized by its intricate bronze sculptures and exquisite crafts, offers a glimpse into the history and culture of the Igbo community.
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Sep 25, 2024 · Igbo, people living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria who speak Igbo, a language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Igbo may be grouped into the following main cultural divisions: northern, southern, western, eastern or Cross River, and northeastern. Before European colonization, the Igbo were not united as a single ...
