Much of the art of the Yoruba, including staffs, court dress, and beadwork for crowns, is associated with the royal courts. The courts also commissioned numerous architectural objects such as veranda posts, gates, and doors that are embellished with carvings. Other Yoruba art is related shrines and masking traditions. The Yoruba worship a large pantheon of deities, and shrines dedicated to these gods are adorned with carvings and house an array of altar figures and other ritual paraphernalia. Masking traditions vary regionally, and a wide range of mask types are employed in various festivals and celebrations.[2]
History
In the period around 800CE the artists at Ife developed a refined and naturalistic sculptural tradition in terracotta, stone and copper alloy—copper, brass, and bronze— many of which appear to have been created under the patronage of King Obalufon II, the man who today is identified as the Yoruba patron deity of brass casting, weaving and regalia.[3]
There have been a series of Yoruba kingdoms over the past nine centuries. The Ife Empire was the earliest of these; It had cultural influence over the Oyo, Owo, and Benin kingdoms, whos's royal courts are said to have learned their art from Ife masters. Early art-historical and archaeological records reinforce these strong affiliations with Ife culture as far back as the 14th century.[4]
Yoruba kingdoms prospered until the slave trade and warfare of the nineteenth century took their toll. One of the effects of this devastation was the dispersal of millions of Yoruba all over the world. This resulted in a strong Yoruba character in the artistic, religious and social lives of Africans in the New World.[1]
Timeline
Henry Drewal, John Pemberton and Rowland Abiodun propose the following stages in the development of art in Ife:
The custom of art and artists among the Yoruba is deeply rooted in the Ifá literary corpus, indicating the orishas Ogun, Obatala, Oshun and Obalufon as central to creation mythology including artistry (i.e. the art of humanity).[citation needed]
In order to fully understand the centrality of art (onà) in Yoruba thought, one must be aware of their cosmology, which traces the origin of existence (ìwà) to a Supreme Divinity called Olódùmarè, the generator of ase, the enabling power that sustains and transforms the universe. To the Yoruba, art began when Olódùmarè commissioned the artist deity Obatala to mold the first human image from clay. Today, it is customary for the Yoruba to wish pregnant women good luck with the greeting: May Obatala fashion for us a good work of art.[7]
The concept of ase influences how many of the Yoruba arts are composed. In the visual arts, a design may be segmented or seriate—a "discontinuous aggregate in which the units of the whole are discrete and share equal value with the other units."[8] Such elements can be seen in Ifa trays and bowls, veranda posts, carved doors, and ancestral masks.
Head, probably of a king; 12th-14th century; terracotta; 26.7 × 14.5 × 18.7 cm (10.5 × 5.7 × 7.3 in.); Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, Texas, USA)
Yoruba peoples armlet (16th century)
The importance of the Orí in Yoruba art and culture
Wooden Door (Ilekun) with carved motifsIron and wood staff (Opa Orisha Oko); 19th century; Brooklyn Museum
The Orí-Inú, or the inner spiritual head, is very important to the Yoruba people. One's Orí-Inú is very important in terms of existing in the world. The priority goes to the Orí for any household. Thus, shrines are built in the houses. An Orí is visually represented through symbolic items within sacrifice or rituals, or more common in houses, would be terra cotta head figures. The Orí can usually determine the outcome of life for each person. Before being put into earth, each person must select their own Orí. Ajala may sometimes produce bad Orí, which this may affect the lives of those people. Sacrifices and rites happen as well in order to satisfy Orí-Isese, which is the supreme ruler over all Orí. The primary functions for sacrifices are to ward off evil and bring in good fortune and happiness.[9]
Anonymity and authorship in African art
The issue of anonymity and authorship has long troubled the field of African art history, particularly as it relates to the political disparities between Africa and the West.[10] Such information was, at least initially, rarely sought in the field and deemed unnecessary and even undesirable by many collectors.[2]Susan Mullin Vogel has identified a further paradox. "[I]n their own societies," she writes, "African artists are known and even famous, but their names are rarely preserved in connection with specific works. ... More often than not, the African sculptor becomes virtually irrelevant to the life of the art object once his work is complete. ... Cultures preserve the information they value."[11]
The problem of anonymity in Yoruba art in particular is troubling in the context of Yoruba culture where "it is absolutely imperative for individuals to acknowledge each other's identity and presence from moment to moment, [and where] there is a special greeting for every occasion and each time of day."[12]
Several Yoruba artists' names are known, including:
Ivory vessel cover, Owo, Yoruba, (1700s)18th Century
Ivory armlets, Yoruba peoples, Owo region of Yorubaland, 16th century. This particular pair may have been part of the Olowo's ceremonial attire
Ceremonial arm band from Owo 18th century AD, ivory - Ethnological Museum, Berlin
Ceremonial ivory sword fragment, Udamaloore, Owo,19th century
Terracotta
Ife terracotta head dating to the 14th century. Heads (Orí) are a very prominent aspect of early Ife artistic forms
Memorial head with vertical facial striations typical of ife heads, Nigeria, 12th century AD, terracotta - Ethnological Museum, Berlin
Ife, memorial head of a king or notable with tribal marking/scarification above eyes, terracotta, 12th-15th century
Yoruba Masquerade
The tendency in many African cosmologies to identify the body as a vehicle incarnating the soul on earth has encouraged the metaphoric use of the masquerade for a similar purpose. Egúngún, Gelede, and Epa are among the many types of Masquerade practiced by the Yoruba.[citation needed]
The bead-embroidered crown (ade) with beaded veil, foremost attribute of the Oba, symbolizes the aspirations of a civilization at the highest level of authority. In his seminal article on the topic, Robert F. Thompson writes, "The crown incarnates the intuition of royal ancestral force, the revelation of great moral insight in the person of the king, and the glitter of aesthetic experience."[14]
Beaded Crown (Ade) of Onijagbo Obasoro Alowolodu; late 19th or early 20th century; basketry frame covered by a stiffened cloth base which is embroidered with glass beads: white, blue, green, pink, red-orange, ochre, and violet; 57.8 x 21.6 cm (diameter) (223⁄4 x 81⁄2 in.); Brooklyn Museum (New York City)
Yoruba royal ceremonial crown. Ade Nla or Ade Isenbaye. The beaded veil shields the Oba's own face and transforms him into a living embodiment of Odùduwà and the force of the collective ancestors. The birds signify that the Oba is a divine ruler. Half in the physical and half in the spiritual realms just as the birds can traverse both the terrestrial and the celestial. Musée du Quai Branly
Beaded Oba's royal coronet (Akoro), Indianapolis Museum of Art. The Akoro was smaller than an Adé and was usually worn by lesser ranking kings under a regional Oba.
Yoruba 19th century copper alloy (brass) crown from Iperu following the typical Yoruba stem on cone ancestral crown designs. These crowns are used in the veneration of the paternal ancestors of Iperu (Ijebu) kings. The four staring faces represent the all-seeing gods or ancestors. Their protruding eyes signify when the spiritual eye replaces ordinary vision. The two figures with mudfish legs refer to supernatural powers in two realms, land and water, or reality and spirit.
Royal headdress called Orikogbofo were lighter versions of ancestral crowns, which were often heavy and cumbersome. The orikogbofo fulfilled the function of keeping the Oba's head always covered, for it was taboo for an Oba to be seen bare headed. This style is now popular across southern Nigeria worn by various royals in the region. Remnant tassels of a beaded veil that should completely shield the Oba's face has been extensively reduced to a few convenient strings.
Yoruba ancestral royal crown (Ade Nla)
Beaded Crown (Ade) of Onijagbo Obasoro Alowolodu, The Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti; late 19th century; basketry frame, covered with beaded cloth; 95.9 x 24.1 cm (373⁄4 x 91⁄2 in.); Brooklyn Museum
The museum in Esiẹ, Irepodun (Kwara state), was the first to be established in Nigeria when it opened in 1945. The museum once housed over one thousand tombstone figures or images representing human beings. It is reputed to have the largest collection of soapstone images in the world.[15] Its works of art have also been said to bear resemblances to those of the Nok culture. In modern times, the Esie museum has been the center of religious activities and hosts a festival in the month of April every year.[citation needed]
References
^ abDrewal, Henry John; Pemberton III, John; Abiodun, Rowland (1989). Wardwell, Allen (ed.). Yoruba : nine centuries of African art and thought. New York: Center for African Art in Association with H.N. Abrams. ISBN0-8109-1794-7.
^ abAdande, Joseph; Siegmann, William C.; Dumouchelle, Kevin D. (2009). African art a century at the Brooklyn Museum. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum [u.a.] p. 106. ISBN978-0-87273-163-9.
^Blier, Suzanne Preston (2015). Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba: Ife History, Politics, and Identity c. 1300. Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-1107021662.
^Drewal, Henry; Pemberton, John; Abiodun, Rowland (1990). Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought. New York: Center for African Art in association with Harry Abrams Publishers. p. 46.
^Drewal, M. T., and H. J. Drewal (1987). "Composing Time and Space in Yoruba Art". Word and Image: A Journal of Verbal/Visual Enquiry. 3 (3): 225–251. doi:10.1080/02666286.1987.10435383.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Abiodun, Rowland (2014). Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the Art in African Art. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
^Thompson, Robert F. (1972). Douglas Fraser; Herbert M. Cole (eds.). African art & leadership. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 227–260. ISBN0299058204.
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