The Role of the Gods in Afro-Brazilian Ancestral Ritual

Author(s): Mikelle Smith Omari

Source: African Arts, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Nov., 1989), pp. 54-61+103-104
Published by: UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3336800 .
Accessed: 17/06/2014 04:26

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center and Regents of the University of California are collaborating
with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to African Arts.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.49 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:26:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 -III.131L?=~~~I
1-TEELE YP FACETA ICRAIO

A L-HIKSYBOIZN :TE IN SO HEDET

I. 'B.
HOI*FEQENL
* 3 'RGADE
S S TH

BEA ITA TA- RCAIAA . JUNE 1988

2 . RIUALVESMEN . Es
AO )WOR BYTH

S . BELA VSTAS 'S -CA

AN-- MR . AD4S .6RCHR RGES

.65. ?41 -
Brzi, - .me -s -1 S - ess o
asgiiatst

-
C7-
* -

Africn di-pr. May istnc. Aria

slaer ws5boishe i.Bazi. Sfrca

I. 0- I -~1[; -
IY I ~
-~ .A

IC ~ 51 ~ C~I 1 5.5~ 6r 5

tept t* oicie, g korz, n

- ol
Th .....I re'igions
Bai5mn
zaio -intotwobrad
*CI
st

-IR=
Ilfloursh.6incntm

II
bt
I' 'l
iviios
hSmpvrse
I- ..Y;1~ -)YI(
-th

bB -. -g n5orua)- hasCfuthe tede

o8 Gd to bscreitsC.senialharcte. I

Bahi ths idoloicalsepratin iem.

th.oologs1
uania.do Satos:. S
cul o3th Ois.6and46eclt.o the ancs-

Riua pratiestw
.dicrte -ristod -r

MIEL MT MR gnztosantwdiSscrete=locaSions"
* n-nr5 1 uf%77 05j2.5 -flc~rai

U
This content downloaded from 195.34.79.49 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:26:53 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 C~ rrccs~csr~
~~ ---C~?1F;~~ r~C~
C~=
~ CA~ I-~

1Qi;:r
I' ?/,i11 j.
I?j" \ i
I ,
~:i'' *
it, .k
91:i
i'rt~i
Ifi-
i:. ii; hQL
Ititl~fi
rj?$/
' i31
~1 IJ:f'
iI IiiJ
:,fIj3
1`i 4 I
j
ti
ia ;i 1

1
alr~:t'!ti.iI T:
if

d sthei1~6~i~;?F;
,* ?~r
~' :'ct.

a;
,? ~ I J\
r"

ij i rr~) t.?,

~?t
Q
%e

rd
I~I~c
S''' ~5-Hr
I;dyC? "d ~i ?
5

~t-?l? jl) ?~r:

ti
I
,5 i
!I
i
~:r~
4
/ c ~
(li
r'I ?; r ;~
t

?j

: c i 3 IcE~ f t
/ ; ,tl
o

i
t ~.~~ ;?;
w: 5?'?
-?e ?r~-
s 3
E;b ;J

?; ?i
c
?-~)~?~
ic. jF;
~

j: rn
I 1 i
r
X ;'2 -i
J ~

i ;J?;l s~
I,-.
.a,
~s~c~a;;~~~Y"~-
f rt r
aI ~ ?t' '?

lyCi. J?~:r~;jr
i,,
~X: ., g;S
I;
:a :i
3Tl 1-'I

c~i'll ?f,~
c,
q
~r-i; ?: , u
?";s~
i
. i~~?,;"~
'7' If~?? h
c I.i.t-~~p;~Y~ai
I~-1 II.?; , ?;
?tji
!j r
-~
:r ~I :i

~
fil'? :'
?i?"
.?4~

t
F
u
-t~;t?
rrr:
~~
Fl~98~3~,;P"
:32, I:??.?

I~ _ ,
5:%,?~:

.i- Cq
~
3
L-~YJ~
:II?
,.t~?1~1
t tl I

.a

?i;I
~1
c
:J'k.il~?

?;_I
~?f~lr

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.49 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:26:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 4. INTERIOROF THE EGUN CEREMONIALSTRUCTURE,
TERREIROILEAGBOULA. EACH CHAIRREPRESENTS
THE "THRONE"OR "SEATOF AUTHORITY" OF FORMER
RITUALAND POLITICALLEADERS(THE ALAGBAAND
THE ALAPINI)OF THE EGUN SOCIETY
BELAVISTA,ITAPARICA,BAHIA.JUNE 1988.

3. EGUNGUN SHRINE FOR LINEAGEANCESTORS PAJE

POLOBIAND OLOMONJAGBA.
IDASA COMPOUND, ILESA,NIGERIA.MARCH1982.

of the ancestors").4 Contacted through Egungun lineage member, and partici-

daily, weekly, and monthly private ritu-
als and elaborate semiannual public fes-
tivals, these ancestors take an active
interest in the well-being of the associa-
tion members and their families and
friends.
Some scholars believe that the origin
of the ancestor society on Itaparica can be
traced to the first Yoruba slaves to arrive
from Nigeria and Dahomey (now the
Republic of Benin) during the transatlan-
tic slave trade, which lasted from the six-
teenth through the early nineteenth cen-
tury (Bastide 1978:137; dos Santos 1976/
77: 118-19). This seems unlikely, how-
ever, considering the abrupt and brutal
nature of slave capture, which precluded
belongings being taken to the New
World; the nonportability of shrines; and
the necessity of kinship and community
for the effective invocation of the ances-
tors. S.O. Babayemi, a Yoruba scholar,
pant in Egungun rituals since early
childhood, described the importance of
Egungun to family lineages in Nigeria.
He related that these Egungun function
either individually in the interest of their
particular families or collectively in the
interest of the community. When they
function collectively, they transcend fam-
ily and lineage alignments. When neces-
sary, Egungun were invoked individu-
ally or collectively on the graves of the
ancestors (oju ori), the family shrines (ile
run), or the community grove (igbale).
The ancestors were invited to physically
visit the earth through masquerades re-
ferred to as Egungun or Ara Orun (in-
habitants of heaven). Many community
Egungun led their communities in wars
or performed other social, political, and
ritual functions (Babayemi 1980:1-4, 25).
My field investigation revealed that in
contemporary Africa, lineage Egungun

officials of this Afro-Brazilian, predo-

minantly male association, which has
been compared to a Masonic order (Bas-
tide 1978:137;dos Santos 1976/77:118-19).
Even though members are drawn from
both sexes, and public ceremonies re-
quire the sustained participation of
women (Fig. 5), the most important se-
crets of the society are controlled by
men. One of its primary functions is to
invoke powerful deceased members
who, through a complex series of rituals,
have been prepared for incarnation
through special embellished cloth crea-
tions called Axo Egun (literally, "clothing

5. FEMALEMEMBERSOF THE EGUN SOCIETYINITIATE

ALLCEREMONIESBY PRAISINGEXU, ONILE,AND
ALLOTHERDEITIES.ONLYTHEN CAN THE CEREMONIES
FOR THE ANCESTORS BEGIN.
TERREIROILEAGBOULA. JUNE 1988.

56

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.49 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:26:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

are maintained in a shrine in the main
house of the compound (Fig. 3). Also
enshrined are the cloak-like garments
used to corporealize these ancestral
spirits; cowries for eerindinlogun divina-
tion; a bundle of branches (isan or atori),
which symbolizes the ancestors and is
used to control them during periodic
public rituals; skulls of sacrificed ani-
mals; and secret materials that women
are not allowed to see (Alapini Egungun,
Ilesa, Idasa compound: pers. comm.,
March 31, 1982). This array of shrine fur-
nishings probably also existed among
the Yoruba during precolonial times,
thereby decreasing the likelihood that
Egungun shrines and ritual items could
have been transported by Yoruba slaves.
The origins of the Egun society in
Bahia may be more plausibly traced to
Africans or Afro-Bahians, possibly of
Yoruba descent, who were engaged in
intercontinental trade. Free black mer-
chants regularly traveled between Ba-
hian and African ports such as Whydah
in Dahomey and Lagos in Nigeria. As
many as ninety-one such trips were doc-
umented for 1848 (Verger 1981:229).5It is
possible that these same merchants were
able to trace their families in Africa and to
locate their domestic ancestral shrines.
Ritual objects and the ritual knowledge
needed to install new shrines and to in-
voke the ancestors could easily have
been imported along with related mate-
rial items. This hypothesis is lent further
weight by data concerning these mer-
chants that Raymundo Nina Rodrigues
collected in the late ninteenth century.
Approximately seven years after slavery
was abolished in Brazil, Nina Rodrigues
interviewed an elderly Afro-Bahian who
had spent considerable time in Africa
(1935:156). This informant told him that
in Africa the souls of the spirit world had
a fraternity (i.e., the Egungun society) in
which neither women nor the unin-
This content downloaded from 195.34.79.49 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:26:53 AM
6. AMUIXAN,A PRIESTOF THE LOWERGRADE.
JUNE 1988.
itiated could participate, and that the
souls materialized and promenaded
about the city at will. The informant fur-
ther asserted that he was unable to di-
vulge any of the secrets to Nina Rod-
rigues because of severe punishment
that could be inflicted through magic.
The earliest documented Egun society
and temple in Bahia was Terreiro Vera
Cruz, founded around 1820 on Itaparica
by an African named Uncle Serafim (dos
Santos 1976/77:119). Dos Santos men-
tions three other important temples es-
tablished in Bahia after 1820:6 Terreiro
Mocambo (ca. 1830), founded on the
Mocambo plantation, Itaparica, by an
African named Marcus Senior; Terreiro
EncarnafCo (ca. 1840), founded in the
village of Encarnafo by Joho-dois-
metros, a son of Uncle Serafim; and Ter-
reiro Tuntun (ca. 1850), founded in Tun-
tun village, an old African settlement, by
Uncle Marcus, the son of Marcus Senior
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
(dos Santos 1976/77:118-19). There are
currently only two Egun temples in
Bahia - both on Itaparica - and infor-
mants claim these are the only ones in
Brazil.' They are Ile Agboula, a direct de-
scendant of Terreiro Tuntun, founded in
1925 on a summit known as Bela Vista;
and Ile Oya Ponda, founded around 1960
on Barro Branco as a result of a dispute
with Ile Agboula (Bastide 1978b:137;dos
Santos 1976/77:118-19). I participated in
and observed ceremonies at both of
these centers of ancestor worship, but
am more closely connected to Ile Ag-
boula.
On Itaparica, Egun are represented
collectively by the trunk of a sacred tree
that is called 'roco (iroko in Yoruba)
or gameleira. This tree trunk (opa koko),
rooted in the earth near the public dance
space of the terreiro,symbolizes the link
between the ancestral spirits and the
force or spirit contained in the earth
(Onile). In this aspect, the Egun are
known collectively as asa. They are indi-
vidually represented by holes dug in the
floor of the shrine into which blood sac-
rifices and bits of food (corn gruel and
palm oil) are placed. Egun are also repre-
8. EGUN APARAAKA,THE JUNIOR TYPEOF ANCESTOR.
7. OJE OLUIDE, HEAD PRIEST(ALAGBAEGUN) OF
THE EGUN SOCIETY,MAKESAN OFFERINGTO EXU,
THE GOD OF DISORDERAND UNPREDICTABILITY,
TO CLEAR PATHSFOR A HARMONIOUSCEREMONY
TERREIROILEAGBOULA. JUNE 1988.
57
sented by thinly carved palm or 'roco
wood branches known as ixan. Ixan are
cared for and most frequently wielded by
priests belonging to the lower grade,
amuixan (Fig. 6), who accompany the
cloth incarnation of the ancestor. They
use the branches to demarcate the
Egun's sacred space and prevent his
garments from touching the living.8
The ritual head of the cult is the Alagba
(Fig. 7), who organizes and leads the pri-
58
This content downloaded from 195.34.79.49 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:26:53 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
10. POPULARCHROMOLITHOGRAPH OF YEMANJA,
USED BY BOTHAFRO- AND LUSO-BRAZILIANS.
BLUE AND WHITEARE ASSOCIATEDWITHTHIS DEITY
vate and public Egun rituals or cere-
monies. The political head, the Alapini, is
merely a titular, symbolic leader. (In West
Africa, an Alagba heads local ancestor
societies or organizations, while an Ala-
pini heads the intercity or intervillage
ones.)9 Next in the hierarchy are the oje,
male priests who are responsible for in-
voking the Egun in the community
grove, igbale (more commonly known in
Bahia as 'bale). Oje may also wield the
ixan during ceremonies, but they do so
by virtue of having first passed the lower
amuixan initiation level.10 Men do not
usually attain this important post until
they reach their late forties or early fif-
ties. An oje who is responsible for one or
more of the cloth creations called Axo
Egun is known as a caretaker (zeladoror
atoke). Axo Egun normally belong to the
family of the zeladorresponsible for call-
ing the ancestor or ancestors to dance in
the appropriate vesture. These elaborate
ensembles conform in height to the de-
ceased man they symbolize. They are
stored in a tiny, windowless room usu-
ally isolated from, but sometimes adjoin-
ing, the family Orixa shrine. By draping
them over a small platform fixed atop a
pole, the cloth panels hang freely with-
out wrinkling. Axo Egun are kept-in
good repair and are replaced when re-
quested by the Egun. All vestments and
implements used in the Egun society
must be made in seclusion by ritually
prepared oje; no woman may touch the
items.
Two broad categories of ancestral
spirits can be distinguished on the bases
of seniority, ritual preparation, and
power: Egun Aparaaka (Fig. 8) and Egun
Agba (Fig. 1). Each is associated with a
type of cloth ensemble (Seu Domingo:
pers. comm., January 5, 1982). Aparaaka
are newly deceased spirits who have not
achieved the status of the elder and more
9. RITUALVESTMENTFOR THE EGUN AGBA CALLED
BABA YEMANJA(AMOROMITODO).
UCLA MUSEUMOF CULTURALHISTORY
 11. YEMOJAPRIESTESSIN ABEOKUTA,NIGERIA.
THE CLEAR BEADS AND THE BLUEAND WHITEDRESS
and that only the force of the ancestor ac-
SIGNALTHE LINKTO YEMOJA,JUST AS THEYDO TO tivates the Axo Egun.
YEMANJA,HER COUNTERPARTIN BAHIA. MAY1983. Each Egun Agba also has its own spe-
cial manner of speaking, voice type,
music, songs, mode of dancing, and cult
powerful Egun Agba. They can neither name in Yoruba. These elements, along
see nor speak. Cloth ensembles for with the bante, identify it to the specta-
Aparaaka are generally flat and rectan- tors. Like the Egun Agba, Orisa are iden-
gular, with a wooden bar probably sup- tified by costume color, hand-held ritual
porting the upper edge of the costume; implements, music, dance steps, voice,
the bar remains rigid when the spirit and greetings. For example, in Figure 14,
dances, its movements consisting which illustrates incarnated Orixa dur-
primarily of bending from side to side ing a public ceremony at a temple based
and gliding back and forth with arms on West African Yoruba religious prac-
outstretched. Made of white (for the tices, Xango, the god of thunder and
most recently deceased ancestors), dark lightning, can be recognized in two as-
green, dark blue, or black cotton, the pects. Xango Alafin (second crowned
Aparaaka's simplicity of form and ab- Orixa from the left), the god in his youth-
sence of prestigious surface embellish- ful manifestation as the king of Old Oyo,
ment reflect its lower status. These Egun is symbolized by the colors red (or rose)
are greatly feared because as unprepared and white, a bifurcated axe blade, and
souls they are generally violent or
malicious.
The literature and Afro-Bahian reli-
gious ideology notwithstanding, my ob-
servance of and participation in many
festivals indicate that there is at least a Since the bante I observed were com-
visual and symbolic link between the pletely different for each Egun, it is my
Egun and the Orixa of the deceased male impression that they serve as its personal
ancestor whom the Egun immortalizes. signature (odu). In the example in Figure
The connection is most apparent in the 2, belonging to the founding line of Ile
cloth incarnations of Egun Agba that are Agboula and once used in Egun rituals,
known as Axo Egun (Seu Domingo: the arrangement of cowries suggests a
pers. comm., March 2, 1982). They rep- skeletal structure and may, along with
resent powerful men of important the face, function as a portrait of the an-
families - always Egun priests (oje), cestor to whom this masquerade refers.
who are specially prepared for incarna- Most Bahians strongly believe that there
tion. The Axo Egun immortalize the is only empty space beneath the vesture
Egun Agba through elaborate, brightly
colored multimedia creations of expen-
sive velvets, metallic brocades, and addi-
tive materials such as beads, fringe, mir-
rors, and cowrie shells. The cloth panels
that hang from the square or rounded ori
("head" in Yoruba) of the Axo Egun are
often referred to as abala (Fig. 15). Under
the abala is a cloth tunic lined with fine
cotton that has appendages for covering
the arms. The Egun sees and speaks
through the imbe, a small rectangular
piece of netting covered with bead
fringe. In Figure 2, which illustrates Baba
Xango (baba, the Yoruba word for "fa-
ther," is frequently used to address
Egun), a face panel (oju) of red velvet
trimmed at the chin with brass bells ap-
pears immediately below the netting.
Three round mirrors are attached in the
positions of eyes and mouth, and the
panel seems to represent the face of the
deceased ancestor. Just below is a long
13. LITURGICALDRESS FOR A CANDOMBLENAGO
apron known as the bante, which serves ORIXAINITIATE,
WHO WOULD WEAR ITWHILE
to identify the individual Egun. Imbued POSSESSED BY YEMANJA.
with sacred ingredients, ritual herbs, UCLA MUSEUMOF CULTURALHISTORY
and leaves, it is thought to contain his
axe, or sacred power. (The bante must
undergo a ritual to neutralize its force if it 12. LITURGICALDRESS FOR AN INITIATE
OF
leaves the sacred confines of Terreiro
YEMANJA,TO BE WORN WHILEWITHINTHE GROUNDS
Ile Agboula.) Each bante is distinguished OF CANDOMBLENAGO ORIXA.COLLECTEDFROM
by a unique configuration of symbols ILEAXE OPO AFONJA AT S-AOGONQALO. SALVADOR.
BAHIA.AUTHOR'SCOLLECTION.
composed of beads, cowries, or mirrors.

59

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.49 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:26:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
usually a gold-colored metal crown.
Xango Aira (to Xango Alafin's right) is
the elder manifestation, identified by an
all-white costume and silver-colored
crown. Indeed, the connections between
gods and ancestors can be most clearly
discerned in the colors and ritual in-
struments associated with their incarna-
tions.
In each of the thirty-five Axo Egun I
observed, the veil was in colors as-
sociated with a specific Orixa. (In my in-
terviews it was always the Orixa who
was the eleda, "master of the head" of the
15. THE EGUN AGBA CALLEDBABA XANGO, WITH
CLOTHPANELS(ABALA)IN MOTION.
TERREIROILEAGBOULA. JUNE 1988.
14. INCARNATED INRITUAL
DEITIES DRESS.
ILEOMOLU, CURUZU, BAHIA.FEBRUARY1981.
deceased.)" In addition, the dominant
colors of each costume closely corres-
ponded to those of a particular Orixa.
For example, in Figure 9, the Axo Egun
known to devotees as Baba or Egun
Yemanja displays the color blue as-
sociated with Orixa Yemanja (Yemoja
in Yoruba), goddess of the Ogun River in
Nigeria and of salt water in Brazil, and
mother of several other gods (Fig. 10).
(Blue and white are also worn by the dei-
ty's devotees and priests in both Nigeria
and Bahia; see Figs. 11-13.) It possesses a
ritual name as well, Amoromitodo,
which refers to Yemanja in both the Egun
and the Orixa societies. The costume was
made by an Egun priest based on my
drawing of an Egun Yemanja that I saw
dancing in the 1982 Presentes de
Yemanja, an annual public festival dur-
ing which gifts to the deity are presented
60
This content downloaded from 195.34.79.49 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:26:53 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
in the water. Each Egun holds a liturgical
instrument that symbolizes a certain de-
ity: in the case of Baba Yemanja it is the
silver-colored sword particular to Orixa
Yemanja, which in dance is usually car-
ried with a fan. The beaded-fringe veil
refers to two aspects of the deity:
Yemanja Asaba, characterized by crystal
clear beads, and Iya Tanan, characterized
by translucent green beads. Fur-
thermore, although the Egun have their
own dance style, frequently music,
greetings, words of praise, and other
characteristic ritual behavior associated
with Orixa are used for Egun. For exam-
ple, I heard odo iya ("mother of the
river"), usually reserved as a greeting for
Orixa Yemanja in Candomble Nago
Orixa, addressed to Baba Amoromitodo
in the Candomble Nago Egun. When I
asked a participant which Orixa was the
"owner/" or master of the head of Baba
Amoromitodo, I was told it was Yemanja
(Filha-de-Ogun: pers. comm., February
2, 1982). Etymological analysis of the
word "Amoromitodo" also suggests evi-
dence of a connection to Yemanja, al-
though the meaning of the whole has
been forgotten. Omi means "water" in
Yoruba, and in Nigeria the ritual names
of all Yemoja society devotees begin with
or incorporate this word. Odo means
"river," the home of Yemanja. In Nigeria
I frequently heard the words awoyo and
amoro in praise of Yemoja (Iya Oni
Yemoja, Omileye: Ibara district,
Abeokuta: pers. comm., March 29,1983),
but I have been unable to find out what
they mean.
At some point in the ceremony Egun
Agba carry a flywhisk (erukere;Fig. 1).
Symbolizing supernatural and ancestral
power, the erukereis treated with a ritual
herbal liquid. The hairs, from a horse or a
bull, are attached to a hollow carved
wooden handle usually containing
ground bones of sacrificed animals,
medicinal leaves, and other ingredients
containing axe. Egun priests believe the
erukerecontrols and represents spirits in
the forest and in heaven.
The erukereis an important emblem of
Oya, the Orixa of tempests and favorite
wife of Xango. Its use by Egun suggests
further links between the gods and the
ancestors. An eerindinlogun (sixteen-
cowrie divination) verse cited by Bascom
(1980: 231) explains how Oya became
known as Iyansan (iya, Yoruba for
mother; mesan, nine [children]). A form
of this praise name, Yansan, has become
Oya's dominant name in Bahia. One of
her aspects is Yansan 'Bale, or "Mother of
the Nine Children" of the collective Egun
shrine known as 'bale (in Yoruba, igbale)
that is maintained by each lineage. She is
the only female Orixa allowed to enter
 Obaluaiye(Omari1984a:fig. 25). I have
also witnessed Egun dancing in the
S manner of many other Orixa(Fig. 17)as
well as that of the BrazilianIndianspirit,
Caboclo(Fig. 16), who is always the last
to appear in any public ceremony. In
each case, the colors and implements of
the particular Egun Agba correspond
with those for the deity.
Once one realizesthat almost every oje
is also a memberof the Orixasociety,the
hypothesis of a visual and spirituallink
between the gods and the ancestors is
not surprising. Accordingto the Alagba
Egun of Ile Agboula and his brother,an
oje,before one can be initiatedinto Can-
domble Nago Egun, one must firstbe in-
itiated into CandombleNago Orixa(Seu
Domingo and Flavianodos Santos: pers.
comm., January5, 1982).The close rela-
tionship that an individual priest had
with his personalOrixawould not be se-
vered by death, but would be immor-
talized through his Egun vesture (Axo
Egun) and aspects of ritual including
dance, praise names, and songs. A crit-
ical examination of actual practice thus
clearly dispels the articulated ideology
asserting a complete separationbetween
the gods and ancestors in the Afro-
Bahiancult of the dead. O
Notes,page103

16. THE EGUN AGBA CALLEDBABA CABOCLO, WHICH

REFERSTO THE BRAZILIANINDIANSPIRIT ITS
STYLEIS DISTINCTFROMTHATOF THE OTHER
YORUBA-DERIVEDEGUN AGBA. ITINCORPORATESTHE
YELLOWAND GREEN COLORS OF THE BRAZILIAN
FLAG(ESPECIALLYIN THE DARKGREEN TUNIC
BENEATHTHE APRON), AND IT PERFORMSTO SONGS
SUNG IN PORTUGUESE,ACCOMPANIEDBY THE BEAT
OF SAMBA, THE NATIONALDANCE.
TERREIROILEAGBOULA. JUNE 1988.

17. THE EGUN AGBA CALLEDBABA OXOSSI. ITS

COLORS AND THE SILVER-COLOREDBOW-AND-ARROW
IMPLEMENTREFERTO OXOSSI, "THEHUNTER,"
GOD OF THE FOREST
TERREIROILEAGBOULA. JUNE 1988.

that sacred male precinctbecause of her lp,,mw

status in Bahiaas the motherof all Egun.
She is colloquiallyknown as the "Queen
of the Cemetary."According to one in-
formant, the erukereheld in the right
hand symbolizes the relationship be-
tween Egun and Yansan 'Bale (Oje
Oluide: pers. comm., February 1981,
1982). In her sacred dance, this Orixa
uses two erukere,one held in each hand,
and waves them in sweeping semicircu-
lar motions, her widespread arms held a
little above waist level. The motion is be-
lieved to dispel souls and negative
forces.
Finally,at some point in the public fes-
tivals, the Egun dances in a style charac-
teristicof the Orixawho is master of the
head. I photographed an Egun Omolu
performingin the bent-over dance mode
(Opanije) typical of Orixa Omolu/

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.49 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:26:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Quiltmaker Sherry Byrd said she didn't like to use patterns,
"because it's other people's ideas... I just kind of build my
own quilts" (Leon 1988: 71; "Cut It Down...," 1988).
6. For the analysis of symbolic forms, Claude Levi-Strauss's
method of structural analysis added an awareness of binary
oppositions, reversals, and other permutations of symbolic
categories (see Fernandez 1971:Adams 1973).
7. An exploration of relationships among various arts com-
parable to intertextuality in literature offers yet another ap-
proach (see Tedlock 1985).
Referencescited
Adams, M. 1978. "Kuba Embroidered Cloth," AfricanArts 12,
1: 24-39, 106.
Adams, M. 1973. "Structural Aspects of a Village Art," Ameri-
can Anthropologist75: 265-79.
Bateson, G. 1936. Naven. Cambridge University Press.
Bedaux, R. 1988. "Tellem and Dogon Material Culture," Afri-
can Arts 21, 4: 38-45, 91.
Bloch, M. 1980. "Ritual Symbolism and the Nonrepresenta-
tion of Society," in Symbolsand Sense, eds. M. Foster and S.
Brandes. New York: Academic.
Bourdieu, P 1977. Outline ofa Theoryof Practice. Trans. R. Nice
(orig. 1972). Cambridge University Press.
Brett-Smith, S. 1984. "Speech Made Visible: The Irregular as a
System of Meaning," EmpiricalStudies of the Arts 2, 2: 127-
47.
Chernoff, J. M. 1979. African Rhythm and African Sensibility:
Aesthetics and Social Action in African? Musical Idioms.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Crowe, D. 1981. "Symmetry in African Art," Bashiru 11, 1:
57-71.
Crowe, D. 1971. "The Geometry of African Art: Bakuba Art,"
Journalof Geometry1, 2:169-82.
"Cut It Down the Middle and Send It to the Other Side: Im-
provisational Technique in African-American Quilts,"
Threads19:70-75, 1988.
Drewal, H. 1977. TraditionalArt of the Nigerian Peoples. Wash-
ington, DC: Museum of African Art.
Drewal, M. and H. 1987. "Composing Time and Space in
Yoruba Art," Wordand Image 3, 3: 225-51.
Durkheim, E. 1912.1947 ed., trans. J. Swain, Glencoe, IL. The
ElementaryForms of the Religious Life. Reprinted 1961. New
York:Collier.
Fernandez, J. 1971. "Balance and Opposition in Fang
Statuary," in Art and Aesthetics in Primitive Societies, pp.
356-73, ed. C. Jopling. New York: Dutton.
Gatheron, P-H. et al. 1988. Au royaumedu signe: Appliquessur
toile des Kuba, Zaire. Paris: Fondation Dapper.
Gilfoy, P 1987. Patternsof Life:WestAfricanStrip-WeavingTradi-
tions. Washington, DC: National Museum of African Art,
Smithsonian Institution.
Gill, M. 1981. "The Potter's Mark: Contemporary and Ar-
chaeological Pottery of the Kenyan Southeastern High-
lands." Ph.D. dissertation, Boston University.
Gombrich, E. 1964. "Moment and Movement in Art," Journal
of the Warburgand CourtauldInstitute 27:293-306.
Harris, J. 1986. "The Re-affirmation of the Theme of Origin
within the Bakuba Culture." Honors thesis, Wake Forest
University.
Hatcher, E. 1974. VisualMetaphors:A FormalAnalysis of Navajo
Art. St. Paul: West Publishing Co.
Leon, E. 1988. Who'd A Thought It: Improvisationin African-
American Quiltmaking. San Francisco: San Francisco Craft
and Folk Art Museum.
Levi-Strauss, C. 1969. The Raw and the Cooked.Trans. J. & D.
Weightman (orig. 1964). New York: Harper & Row.
Locke, D. 1983. "Atsiagbeko: The Polyrhythmic Texture,"
Sonus 4,1:16-38.
McCracken, G. 1987. "'Homeyness': Culture Made Material in
the Modern North American Home," WorkingPaper87-105.
Department of Consumer Studies, University of Guelph.
(Forthcoming in Journalof ConsumerStudies.)
McNaughton, P. 1982. "The Shirts That Mande
Hunters
Wear,"African Arts 15,3:54-58, 91.
Morrison, P 1981. Playing wzithPattern. Brochure for Patterns
Project (orig. 1971).
Opala, J. 1982. "The Limba Hu-ronko." Paper read at De-
partmental Seminar, March 4. School of Oriental and Afri-
can Studies, London (cited by permission).
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cam-
bridge, MA. Acquisition Register.
Roy, C. 1982. "Mossi Weaving," African Arts 15,3:48-53, 91.
Sieber, R. 1972. African Textilesand DecorativeArts. New York:
Museum of Modern Art.
Simmel, G. 1950. The Sociologyof GeorgSimmel. Trans. & ed. K.
Wolff. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
Tedlock, B. and D. "Text and Textile: Language and Technol-
ogy in the Arts of the Quiche Maya,"Journalof Anthtlropolog-
ical Research41,2:121-45.
Thompson, R. E 1983. Paintings froma Single Heart:Preliminary
Remarkson Bark-ClothDesigns of the Mbute Womenof Upper
Zaire. Munich: Galerie fuer afrikanische Kunst.
Thompson, R. E 1974. African Art in Motion. Los Angeles:
University of California Press.
Washburn, D. In press. Native Categoriesof Material Culture:
NamedPatterns on RaffiaCloth. Tiansactions, Ameri-
can Philosophical Bakuba
Society, Philadelphia.
HARJTNotes, from page 53
My research on Limba woodcarving was supported by grants
from the British Academy and the University of Ulster.
Joseph Opala of the Institute of African Studies, Fourah Bay
This content downloaded from 195.34.79.49 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:26:53 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
College, made very helpful comments on an earlier draft of Lehuard, R. 1973. "Trompes anthropomorphes du Bas-
this article. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Bockari Ban- Congo," Arts d'AfriqueNoire 6.
gura and Chernoh Njai who accompanied me on my trips Migeod, EFW.H.1926. A Viewof Sierra Leone. London.
through Limba areas. Phillips, R. 1979. "The Sande Masks of the Mende of Sierra
1. Olayinka had built up her collection over a number of Leone." Ph.D. dissertation, University of London.
years, and so far as I am aware, it was the only major private Vansina, J. 1984. Art History in Africa. London.
collection of indigenous art owned by a Sierra Leonean. It
was stolen in the mid-1970s while its owner was on a trip SMITH OMARI: Notes, from page 61
overseas. The original version of this paper was presented at the annual
2. Guy Massie-Taylor spent seven years in Sierra Leone in meeting of the African Studies Association, October 25-28,
the 1950s as an Education Officer responsible for art in the 1984, Los Angeles. This material is from my Ph.D. disserta-
curriculum. He began collecting traditional art in order to tion (Smith Omari 1984b) and forms part of a chapter in a
provide his students with indigenous models for their own forthcoming book.
creative work. He had the artist's eye for a fine piece, and Field work conducted in Brazil, the Republic of Benin, and
over his years in Sierra Leone he put together what is perhaps Nigeria in 1980-83 was made possible by a Fulbright-Hays
the finest collection of Sierra Leone artifacts in existence. Dissertation Fellowship and an Edward A. Dickson History
After his death in 1985 it was purchased by Glasgow Mu- of Art Fellowship (UCLA). My conclusions are based on in-
seums and Art Galleries. formant testimony, observation, and participation in several
3. For Bemba masks see Hart (1987). The a-Rong a-Thoma is private and public Egun festivals. I wish to thank all the in-
described in the catalogue of the exhibition as Araung Etoma. formants and officials who made this work possible, and es-
4. The point is made by both Lamp (1985) and Phillips (1979). pecially Seu Domingo.
5. Similar necks can be seen on other figure sculptures from 1. For Afro-Brazilians, African religions provide alternative
the Western Sudan (e.g., Malinke and Bamana figurines). subsocieties offering social mobility and self-esteem. African
6. Anthropomorphic wooden trumpets or megaphones have religions and art have also fulfilled some ephemeral
been reported among the Bembe and related peoples on the psychological and emotional needs of Luso-Brazilians who
do not want the central, lifelong religious commitment
Congo side of the Congo-Zaire border (see Lehuard 1973).
There are also carved wooden trumpets used by the Dyo soci- deeper participation entails (Smith Omari 1984a, 1984b).
2. Dos Santos' assertation of a strict separation between gods
ety among the Bamana of southern Mali. The latter, however,
are much smaller and lighter than Limba examples (cf. Im- and ancestors in Afro-Brazilian religion contrasts with the
situation in many parts of Yorubaland, where Egungun is
perato 1983).
7. The Limba consider all twins to have "four eyes" (thaya thought to be an Orisa as well as a deceased ancestor (Obade-
thanang), special powers of insight into and control over rin Egunjobi, Ketu: pers. comm., April 23, 1981;Taiwo A.O.
spiritual powers at work in the world. An aggrieved twin is Nipado, Ilesa: pers. comm., March 23, 1982; Babayemi 1980:
therefore a dangerous being. 1-4, 25).
8. From what I could see, the basket in question contained a 3. There is a close spiritual link between the Candomble
number of small polished pebbles. Such collections of Nago Orixa of the Ile Axe Opo Afonja of Sao Goncalo do Re-
tiro in Bahia and the Candomble Nago Egun of Ile Agboula in
polished stones have long been known to commemorate
dead ancestors. Itaparica. The exact nature of this connection is unclear. Ac-
9. For an account of the use of "swears" by the Limba, see cording to Flaviano dos Santos (a male Orixa initiate who
holds posts in both terreiros),in order to participate in Egun,
Finnegan (1964).
10. In some places they are apparently made by Fula one must also be initiated into the cult of the Orixa (pers.
blacksmiths; the abstract patterns may reflect Fula - and comm., October, 1982). Perhaps the connection goes back to
Mae Senhora, the late, world-renowned head priestess of the
Muslim - influence rather than anything characteristically
Limba. Candomble dedicated to the deity Afonja (warrior manifesta-
11. The saltcellar in question is in the Seattle Art Museum, tion of Xango) and co-founder of Ile Agboula.
4. I noted this same function in the Republic of Benin and
Washington, and was formerly part of the Heeramaneck Col-
lection. The museum catalogue number is 68.31. Nigeria (0. Egunjobi, Ketu: pers. comm., April 23, 1981;
12. However, the most elaborately carved gameboard in the T.A.O. Nipado, Ilesa: pers. comm., March 23, 1982; Alapini
Massie-Taylor Collection is recorded as a Limba piece. Egungun, Ilesa, Idasa: pers. comm., March 31, 1982).
Referencescited When I returned to Itaparica during the summer of 1988,
the head and other officials of the society to whom I had sent
Finnegan, R.H. 1965. A Survey of the Limba People of Sierra
Leone. London. my 1984 monograph repeatedly emphasized the inappropri-
Finnegan, R.H. 1964. "'Swears' Among the Limba," Sierra ate usage of the term "masquerade" in describing the Axo
LeoneBulletin of Religion 6,1. Egun: "They are not masquerades"according to Seu Domingo
Gower, T. 1980. Art of the Mende. Glasgow. (Alaba Egun, Arivaldo, Oje Dudu: pers. comm., June 4-6,
Gwynne-Jones, D.R.G. et al. 1978. A New GeographIyof Sierra 1988).
Leone. London. 5. Verger documents many such voyages, for example, "56 in
Hart, WA. 1988. "Limba Funeral Masks," AfricanArts 22, 1. 1846; 72 in 1847; and 7 in 1849" (1981a:229). Exports included
Hart, W.A. 1987. "Masks with Metal-Strip Ornament from tobacco and white rum (cachaca).Imports included black soap
Sierra Leone," AfricanArts 20, 3. (ose dudu), red parrot feathers (ekoodide),four-lobed kola nuts
Imperato, P.J. 1983. Buffoons, Queens, and WoodenHorsemen. (obi abata), and pano da costa, all items of ritual importance for
New York. the cult of the gods as well as for that of the ancestors.
Lamp, F. 1985. "Cosmos, Cosmetics and the Spirit of Bondo," 6. Unfortunately dos Santos provides neither information
AfricanArts 18, 3. about her sources for the dates nor any data explaining the
CONTRIBUTORS
ROWLANDABIODUNis Professorand formerhead of the Departmentof Fine Arts,Obafemi
Awolowo University,Ile-lfe,Nigeria,and was VisitingProfessorat AmherstCollege duringthe
1988-89 academic year. He is the authorof numerousscholarlyarticleson artand aesthetics in
Africa,particularlyamong the Yoruba.
MONNIADAMS teaches Africanart and is a Research Associate in Africanand Oceanic
ethnologyat the Peabody Museum,HarvardUniversity.
HENRYJOHN DREWALis Professorof ArtHistoryat ClevelandState Universityand a consul-
tant in Africanart for the Cleveland Museumof Art. He is also a consulting editor for African
Arts.
W.A. HARTlectures in philosophyat the Universityof Ulsterat Coleraine.Inthe early 1970s he
was a lecturerat FourahBay College, Universityof SierraLeone.
JOHN PEMBERTONIIIis Crosby Professorof Religion,AmherstCollege, and Associate Re-
search Fellow,InstituteforCulturalStudies, ObafemiAwolowoUniversity,Ile-lfe.
MIKELLE SMITHOMARI,InterimChairof the Departmentof Black Studies and Associate Pro-
fessor of ArtHistoryat CaliforniaState University,Long Beach, received her Ph.D.fromUCLAin
1984. She specializes in the art, society, and ritualof the Yorubain Africaand of the Yoruba
diasporain the New World.
LIZWILLISis a painterand a partnerin a firmof artistsand architects. She recentlyreturned
fromNigeriaand now lives in London.
103

circumstances of establishment.
7. This is not to say that lineage Egun are not worshiped in
Bahia. On the contrary, Balbino Rufino, a priest of Candom-
ble Nago in Laura de Freitas, Bahia, is an initiate of the Orixa
Xango. Balbino traveled to Africa, traced his family, and
brought one of the Egungun and the ritual shrine elements to
Bahia where this African Egungun is now cultivated (Pierre
Verger:pers. comm., Oct. 1982). Robert E Thompson recently
mentioned the existence of Egun Candomble in Rio de
Janeiro (pers. comm., April 10, 1988). When I mentioned this
to the Alagba Egun (chief priest) in Itaparica, May 26, 1988, he
asserted that the Candomble was an offshoot of the one on
Itaparica Island.
8. Sometimes the Egun themselves whip the spectators with
the ixan, especially near the end of the festival when people
tend to fall asleep.
9. At the time of my research, the ritual head (Alagba) was
Seu Domingo, whose association name is Oje Oluide. The
Alapini was Deoscoredes Maximiliano dos Santos, whose
title was conferred on him in Africa.
10. Amuixan do not know the esoteric secrets of the society,
nor do they possess the knowledge required to invoke the
Egun. Dos Santos does not specifically describe the process of
initiation for this primary grade of priests (1976177:126).She
does, however, indicate that the oje (invokers of Egun) have
already been initiated into amuixan. The initiation for the oje
involves a pact with the ancestors that is affirmed by inges-
tion of symbolic elements including pinches of earth, special
leaves, and ritual herbs. These ingredients link them with the
spiritual world by virtue of the sacred power (axe) they con-
tain, and permit the initiate to function in a practical capacity
in the cult.
11. An initiate can have more than one Orixa: one considered
mother or father, another governing the left or right side of
the body, etc. These are determined by divination at the mo-
ment of initiation. Each initiate has one Orixa implanted in
his or her head who is master of or owner of the head.
Referencescited
Babayemi, S.O. 1980. Egungunamong the Oyo Yoruba.Ibadan.
Bascom, William. 1980. Sixteen Cowries:YorubaDivinationfrom
Africa to the New World.Bloomington, IN.
Bastide, Roger. 1978. O Candombleda Bahtia(Rito Nago). Sao
Paulo.
Dos Santos, Juanita E. 1981. "O Culto dos Ancestrais na
Bahia: O Culto dos Egun," in Oloorisa, ed. Clovis Moura.
Dos Santos, Juanita E. 1976/77. Os Nagos e A Morte. Rio de
Janeiro.
Gennep, Arnold Van. 1960. TheRites of Passage. (1909, transl.
G.L. Caffee and M.B. Vizedom). Stanford, CA.
Nina Rodrigues, Raimundo. 1935. Os africanosno Brasil. Sao
Paulo.
Smith Omari, Mikelle. 1984a.Frontthe Insideto the Outside:The
Art and Ritual of BahianCandonmble. UCLA Museum of Cul-
tural History Monograph Series, no. 24.
Smith Omari, Mikelle. 1984b. "Cultural Confluence in Can-
domble Nago: A Socio-Historical Study of Art and Aesthe-
tics in an Afro-Brazilian Religion." Ph.D. dissertation.
UCLA. University Microfilms International #8723187.
Verger,Pierre Sangowumi F.1981.Noticiasda Bahia-1850. Sal-
vador, Bahia.
WILLIS:Notes, from page 67
1. Many scholars have suggested that Igbo wall painting
grew out of the body painting tradition. Murals frequently
give the spectator a visual experience like that imparted by
certain body decoration styles. For example, repeat patterns
composed of concentric circles are painted onto the body with
the ogaalumedium, creating dark weals on the skin; uli paint-
ings are drawn onto this textured surface. Similarly a layer of
laterite slip may be applied in repeated semicircular motions
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Photographs,page:
34, 36-40: Hillel Burger
35: MariettaB. Joseph
41 (left): Monni Adams
41 (right), 43 (bottom):JosephCornet
42: Diane Cook
43 (top left): RobertH. Nooter
43 (top right): Simon Ottenberg
44-53: W.A. Hart
54, 56-57, 58 (right), 59 (top), 60-61:
Mikelle Smith Omari
55, 58 (left), 59 (bottom):Richard Todd
62, 67: HerbertM. Cole
63, 66: Liz Willis
65: SandorPeri
69, 72-73, 76, 77 (top left, bottomleft):
J.L. Thompson
77 (bottomright): John PembertonIII
79: HerbertM. Cole
83: Willis Bing Davis
85-86: JerryPloskonka
93 (top): The Fine Arts Museums San Francisco
of
93 (bottom):VirginiaMuseum of Fine Arts
This content downloaded from 195.34.79.49 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:26:53 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
classifed ads
to a wall, and uli motifs will be painted on top of the textured
finish.
2. In the early years of this century in Nnobi town, an over-
zealous convert to Christianity killed a python. This was nso
ala, since the python is a sacred animal. It was the women
who took upon themselves the responsibility of bringing the $1.20 perword,minimum$30.
culprit before a court of law At this time traditional judicial
procedures had been largely superseded by British law. The
AfricanArtsboxnumber: $15.
women of Nnobi walked the twenty-five kilometers to Allclassifiedsmustbe prepaid.
Onitsha to petition the district officer there. Before agents of
the colonial judiciary could take action, the women "won" BOOKS
their case: the killer of the python died within a few days. An
informant is recorded to have said: "He was not killed by Rare,important,andout-of-print
bookson
anybody and he did not commit suicide. It was the mouth of African,
Primitive,
andAncientartpurchased
Nnobi people, men and women, that shouted his name,"
thereby causing his death.
andsold.Catalogues available
on request.
3. For example, in spite of the urgent desire for children that Pleasewriteforfurther
information.
Michael
exists in Igboland, the birth of twins was considered to be an
Graves-Johnston,Bookseller,
P.O.Box532,
abomination against the land of the most serious kind. Multi-
ple births were appropriate for animals, not humans, and LondonSW9ODR,England. 01-274-2069.
twins were therefore left to perish in the "bad bush."
4. The following translations of statements made by uti art-
ists imply that there are aesthetic ideals for uti body painting. WEAPONS
PRECOLONIAL
These statements have been collected from numerous theses
from the Dept. of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Ni- ANDHEADDRESSES
FORSALE
geria, Nsukka. I was advised on the orthography by Dr. C.C. of Zairean
Collection weaponsandhead-
Azuonye. [AfricanArts regrets that for technical reasons the
tonal markings cannot be reproduced.] dressesoffirstquality.
ContactP.O.Box1357,
A. Comments showing the concern for contrast and clar- LaJolla,CA92038or(619)456-2971.
ity: Uli ga-eri eri (Uli will become black. When the uli dye
oxidizes fully the patterns will stand out clearly and look
most effective); O ma abakoabako,0 gaghi abakoabako(Uli
lines should not be smudged); Uli ga ano n'akparan'akpara
(Uli lines should be sharp and incisive); O'ga gba n'nge Nigeria, Nsukka.
nnge, Ogaghi agbango (Another comment extolling the vir- Edeh, Emmanuel M.P. 1985. Towardsan Igbo Metaphysics.
tues of sharp, well-controlled drawing).
Chicago: Loyola University Press.
B. Comments showing the concern for the finished body Murray, K.C. 1972. "Ibo Body Painting." Unpublished notes
painting to create shiny, bright, scintillating effects: O na- and drawings. National Museum, Lagos.
egbu nyamnnyamnnyam (An ideophone suggesting how uli Nwala, T. Uzodinma. 1985. IgboPhilosophy. Nigeria: Lantern
should shine and appear as a uniform and compact de- Books, Literamed Ltd.
sign); A ona-egbu nele nele (Uli dances before the eyes); O Nwoga, Donatus Ibe. 1984. "Nka Na Nzere (Igbo Cosmol-
na-ahagemgemngem (Comment on how uli glows and seems
ogy)." The 1984 Ahiajoku Lecture. Owerri, Nigeria: Cul-
clearer on skin that has been rubbed with oil); Ahu ya n'egbu ture Division Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth, and
mioromioro(Her body glows).
Sports, Government Printer.
C. Comments that indicate the desire for harmonious, Okeke, U. 1976. "Igbo Art" (mimeograph). Nimo, Anambra
well-balanced designs that are chosen in order to enhance State, Nigeria: Asele Institute.
the particular quality or figure of the person being deco- Thompson, R.F.1973. "An Aesthetic of the Cool," AfricanArts
rated: Oga-eju eju:(Uli should be satisfying); Mma ya roroaro 7, 1: 41-43, 64-67.
(Her beauty is well blended); Mmayajuru afo (Her beauty is
Udechukwu, 0. 1984. "Ogwugwa Aja lyiazi, Nri 1984," Uwa
satisfying); Uli di n-aru n-aru (Uli should be matched to the ndi Igbo1: 53-60.
figure of the person being painted). Ufudo, P. 1975. "The Impact of Christian Missions on Nnobi
D. A few criticisms of bad workmanship have also been Town." B.A. thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
recorded: O bakolua bako(It is smudged); Onye kikaagi ifea'? Ugonna, Nnabuenyi. 1984. Mmonwnu:A DramaticTraditionof
(Who made this childlike scribble on your body?).
the Igbo. Lagos: Lagos University Press.
5. Nwoga mentions other examples of abstract concepts that
become potent and real when activated: "In the shrine of Ala
DREWAL,PEMBERTON, & ABIODUN: Referencescited,
and of other deities one may also see reifications of such frompage 77
abstractions as iwu, representing the covenant between the Abimbola, W. 1975. "Iwapele: The Concept of Good Charac-
priest and the deity that neither is to be vicious to the other ter in Ifa Literary Corpus," in YorubaOral Tradition,ed. W.
without provocation; onumtnonu, representing the exclama- Abimbola, pp. 387-420. Ife: Department of African Lan-
tions during dangerous crises and sacrifice of cock is made guages and Literatures.
periodically to this to
onumonu ask that one is not killed by Abiodun, R. 1987. "Verbaland Visual Metaphors: Mythical
sudden exclamations;... okukurowhe by which one hooks off Allusions in YorubaRitualistic Art of Ori," Wordand Image:
(Koo) any elements of guilt that might lie on one; and so on A Journalof Verbal/Visual Enquiry3, 3: 252-70.
and so on" (Nwoga 1984:25). Abiodun, R. 1983. "Identity and the Artistic Process in Yoruba
6. According to Major A.CG.Leonard: "In Igboland the spil- Aesthetic Concept of Iwa," Journalof Culturesand Ideas1, 1:
ling of sacrificial blood has a dual purpose; it is first of all 13-30.
propitiatory and secondly it prevents or removes any malign Abiodun, R. 1975. "Ifa Art Objects: An Interpretation Based
forces. Blood has great significance in Igboland: it reconciles on Oral Traditions," in YorubaOral Tradition,ed. W. Abim-
and draws together two parties and effects a covenant that is bola, pp. 421-68. Ife: Department of African Languages and
rarely broken because the vengeance and destruction of the Literatures.
deities is dreaded" (Leonard 1968: 454, 455). Beier, U. 1982. YorubaBeaded Crowns: Sacred Regalia of the
7. Obiora Udechukwu photographed the repainting of this Olokukuof Okuku. London: Ethnographica.
shrine wall and produced annotated diagrams describing Drewal, H. J. 1987. "Art and Divination among the Yoruba:
each motif or explaining its meaning as told to him by the Design and Myth," AfricanaJournal14, 2 & 3: 139-56.
artists (1984:53-60). Drewal, H. J. 1977. TraditionalArt of the NigerianPeople.Wash-
8. The same word may also have multiple connotations. ington, D.C.: Museum of African Art.
Nwoga cites the case of "Ala," which means "land" or Drewal, M. T. 1977. "Projections from the Top in YorubaArt,"
"earth" (the physical aspect of reality), the concept of earth as AfricanArts 11, 1:43-49, 91-92.
a deity (the spiritual aspect), and the mounds of earth (ajaala) Drewal, M. T. and H. J. Drewal. 1987. "Composing Time and
and carved or molded sculptures that symbolize the deity Space in Yoruba Art," Wordand Image:A Journalof Verball
(the abstract aspect) (Nwoga 1984:18). VisualEnquiry3, 3: 225-51.
9. Among motifs collected by K.C. Murray (1972) in Bende Pemberton, J. 1975. "Eshu-Elegba: The Yoruba Trickster
during the 1930s are many depicting movements or actions. God," AfricanArts 9, 4: 20-27, 66-70.
10. Igbo comments and sayings reveal that body painting Thompson, R. F. 1970. "The Sign of the Divine King," African
adds to a woman's confidence in her appearance: E dee uli a Arts 3, 3: 8-17, 74-80.
maamma(When uli is applied a person becomes beautiful);A si
mgi dee m uli, na aga m di. I si mgbei lotara.Mgbeahu, onyega alu ADAMS REVIEW:Referencescited, frompage 97
m: (I ask you to paint my body with uli patterns because I am Callois, R. 1967. Lesjeux et les hommes(Le masqueet le vertige).
getting married, and you say, "When I return." But who Revised and expanded edition; orig. 1958. Paris.
would marry me then? Translationby C.C. Azuonye, Univer- Cole, H. 1985. "Introduction: The Mask, Masking, and Mas-
sity of Nigeria, Nsukka); Nwa agbughodereuli gaa di, e cheena o querade Arts in Africa," inI Am Not Myself, ed. H. Cole, pp.
di mma. Uli alaa, mma alaa (The maiden who goes into mar- 15-27. Los Angeles.
riage with beautiful uli patterns thinks she is naturally beauti- Eliade, M. 1968. Le chamanismeet les techniquesarchaiquesde
ful; the uli patterns fade and her beauty is gone [Aniakor I'extase.2nd ed. revised and expanded. Paris.
1978:441). Griaule, M. 1938. Masquesdogon. Paris.
11. Translated by Dr. C.C. Azuonye. I read this anonymous Levy-Bruhl, L. 1949. Les carnetsde LucienLkvy-Bruhl.Paris,
quote in a B.A. thesis at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Referencescited K.1932-33.
Meull, "Maske, inHanduiwrterbuch
Maskereien,"
des DeutschenAberglaubens,vol. 5, eds. E.
Cole, H.M., and C.C. Aniakor. 1984. IgboArts:Communityand Hoffmann-Krayer
and Hanns Berlin.
Cosmos. Los Angeles: UCLA Museum of Cultural History. Meuli, K. 1943.Bichtold-Stiubli.
SchweizerMasken. Zurich.
Duru, N. 1984. "Uli Aesthetics." B.A. thesis, University of
Willett, F. 1971. AfricanArt: An Introduction.New York.