University of Nigeria Research Publications

Aut

hor

MOHAMMED, Kabir J.

PG/MFA/88/6983

Title

Art And Festivals In IgalaLand

Facu

lty

Arts

Dep

artm

ent

Fine And Applied Art

Dat

e

October, 1990

Sign

atur

e

TITLE PAGE

ART AND FESTIVALS IN IGALA LAND

submitted t o the Department of ~ i n e and ~ p p l i e d Arts

Universityof Nigeria NsWa in P a r t i a l

f d i l m e n t of t h e Requirements f o r the

Award of t h e Degree of Master of Fine Arts

( v i s u a l communication Cscign and PhotographyS.

CERTIFICATION

Mohammed Kabir Jumare a Postgraduate student i n t h e

Department of ~ i n e and Applied A r t s and with t h e ~ t ? g i S t r a t i o n

Number PG/~~A/88/6983 has s a t i s f a c t o r i l y completed t h e

requirements f o r course and research work f o r the degree of

Master of Fine Rrts i n v i sua l communication Design and

Photography. he work embodied i n t h i s t h e s i s / d i s s e r t a t i o n /

p ro jec t r e p o r t i s o r i g i n a l and has not been submitted i n p a r t o r

whole f o r any other diploma or degree of t h i s o r any other ..

University, &I ir)

+ ' 9 . * I , "

' t -

iii

APPROVAL PAGE -

T H I S T H E S I S HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR THE

DEPARTMENT OF F I N E AND A P P L I E D ARTS

UNIVERSITY O F NIGERIA, NSUKKA

- ---------------------------- EXTERNAL EXAMINER

MF C.V. kMAEFUNlrH DRo L , T o BET\ITU

<----- --------- - ----------- .............................. H E & OF DEPkR!TPiENT DEAN OF THE FACULTY DR. '.Cm ANIIiKOR

DEDICATION

To ad and Mom,

MAryam and the children.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This p ro jec t would not have been wr i t t en without any dependence

on interviews and l i t e r a t u r e reviews. AS t h i s i s t h e first research

on ~ r t and f e s t i v a l s i n Igalaland, and interviews were the main

sources of information, I am g r a t e f u l t o a l l t h a t were interviewed

and more especia l ly t h e ~ t t a of Iga la - His Royal Highness Alhaji

A ~ ~ Y U Obaje, t h e Achadu of I g a l a chief Achema, M r . Tun Miachi,

and a host of o thers who made valuable contributions t o make this

research a r e a l i t y ,

# he photographs and i l l u s t r a t i o n s used i n this p ro jec t w e r e

taken, developed and pr in ted by t h e researcher. I am a l s o g r a t e f u l

t o t h e authors whose books, journals, handouts, in te l l igence repor t s

and theses have been very helpful i n making t h e research a r e a l i t y ,

without which t h e projec t would have been baseless. specia l thanks

go t o God and m$ supervisor, M r , Vo C. ~maef unah, of whom, without

t h e i r d i rec t ion this projec t w i l l be meaningless. I a l s o have t o

thank IE 0, o l o i d i , No Udosen and a l l t h e s t a f f of t h e

Department of Fine and Applied ~ r t s , University of Nigeria, Nsukka,

Federal Polytechnic Idah (Library Department), M r , Okoli

( a r e t i r e d ducat ion 0 f f i C e r ) j who i n one way o r t h e other

contributed t o t h e success of t h i s project ,

M o KO m a r e

1990,

PREFACE

In studying the origins of the a r t i s t i c t r ad i t i on of some African

cultures one is bound t o become interested i n the t rad i t iona l f e s t i va l s oi

t he Igala people. Igala mt and feotitrals has not been very w e l l

documented as was the case of the Tiv the i r neighbows. Scholars l i k e

John S. Boston,- ust tin shelton, R.G, Armstrong and Francois Nyet wrote

about some aspects of Igala culture, but f a i l ed t o dig deep i n t o the

visual arts most especially the a r t i s t i c components t ha t exist i n t he

t rad i t iona l f e s t i va l s -

The Igala i n t he i r own way, manifest i n t h e i r various visuaf arts an

or ig ina l i ty t h a t i n many cases i s sti l l ignored. In order t o be t te r

understand t h e i r artistic inspirat ion, one should tu rn towards the his tor j

and or igin of t h e i r artistic t rad i t ions , which are often complex with

numerous in f luent ia l factors , Some of which are socio-political and t o a

greater extent economic due t o the location of the area. The study of

t h e Igala f e s t i v a l s i s bet ter approached from the artistic t r ad i t i on

of the people, This i s necessary i n t h a t the a r t components i n the

f e s t i va l s cannot divorce themselves from t h e socio-religious l i f e of the

people. The masking t r ad i t i on and the ro le of che a r t works i n t he

f e s t i va l s have been looked in to , being par t of t he i r culture, This

study i s geared towards documentation of the most s ignif icant f e s t i va l s

i n Igala land and the mt tha t i s involved i n those fes t iva l s ,

This w i l l help i n creating an awareness of the artistic treasures

of the Igala , the re la t ionship between t h e sacred r i t u a l art end t he - ~ ' f

re l igious practices of t he people, T h i s presentation may be a good

reference material f o r fur ther investigation i n t o the wt of the Igala pec

M~ K. Jmare

W L E OF CONTENTS - 'KWE PAGE: . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... CERTIFICATION a APPROVALPAGEt o.0 0 0 . . q .

DEDIC~!KONI ..- 0. e o m

XKNOVLEDGBIENTa ......... PREFW; . . . . . . . . . . . . . TkRwOFCONTENTS1 r 0. ........ LIST OF PLATES* LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSI so. s o

THESIS ABSTRACT3 0.0 m.

MAP OF I G W W D k w.....

CWTER ONE:

CHAPTER TWO:

............... Literature R e v i e w : 1 MethodoloQy! . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ 3 Statemerit o f Problem! ............ .6 Objective of the Study! ............ . y Significance of Studyr ............ -93 b History of the Peaple; ............ 9

SOME NOTABLE FESTIVAbS I N IGALA T.AND

Qwu Festival: . . , . . . . . . . . . . . ~ ~ ~ ' 13 Ocho Festival: . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . ~ ~ ~ ~ 14 Oganyiganyi Festival 8 . ~ . . ~ . . . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 16 Egbe Festival: ................~. .18 Okwula Festival:.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Egonye Festivals ............... 21 ,

CHAPTER THREE: MASKS AND MASQUERADES

Masks.: ...................*~ 23 The Masquerades: . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . 3 1

v i i i

PAGE - CHAPTER FOUR:

CHkNLTERI S T I C S OF THE ART FORMS 0 , . , , @ I T AFFECTS DRESS, HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS 45 AND IMPLEMENTS :

CHAPTER FIVE: Y b

ART ELEMENTS iiS SYMBOLIC FORCE OR CONCEPTUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FESTIVALS, 57

b

CHAPTER SIX: ---- THE

CHAPTER SEVEN :

REFERENCES/BIBLIOGR~PHY: ... ,,, 7%

GOVERNMENT PUBLICIiTIONS: ,,. ,., o n ,

LIST OF PLATES

1 A t y p i c a l I g a l a mask u s e d d u r i n g f u n e r a l a n d f e s t i v a l ce remony , o m

- A c r o c o d i l e s h a p e d mask u s e d d u r i n g Mabolo f e s t i v a l ( ~ g a b a d e ) : , , . ... a o o o o o

B O r a c h i n c o s t u m e s h o w i n g t h e a d d e d a p p l ~ q u e d stars: O m * O o O .,. . a * e m .

T h e I k e l e k u Ahuma mask , . l o 0..

A d i f f e r e n t t y p e of I g a l a wooden mask u s e d d u r i n g t h e f e s t i v a l s b a a O m * a.o

... o r a c h i n mask h e a d d r e s s ... . ~ j u b e j u a i l o mask o O O . 0 4

Otegwu mask: O Q O . O o a O 0

Egwu Oraqamu p a s k , o o o o o o

Egwu A n y a k a t o r o mask: . , o . O m . a * a . 7 m

~ k w e Roya l m a s q u e r a d e , l r .

Agbanabo masquerade : .a* 4 0 . m e * . O m

I n e l e k p e m a s q u e r a d e : * O m ".. .a. 0 4 .

Epe masquerade : ., , . o m ...a o r n o a . O

I c h a w u l a masquerade : a . O a . p e o . q . 0

. L Odumado masquerade : o r n o o .a e r a

I k e l e k u Ahuma masquerade : . 0 . o 0 0 .

.. .. Obaje Hdeka masquerade : o o o . . .

. \ ~ g w u ~ f i a m a s q u e r a d e : ... . . o . o 38

The n i n e "Okwute melasq s t a f f s : . . 4'J

The "Okwute U l e " r i t u a l s t a f f : o m r o o 41

o j o A t t a ; 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O r n o . m e a . 0 42

An Ucha d e s i g n e d p o t : a o o o r n o o . e eta 44

T h e t h r e e m a j o r I g a l a e m b r o i d e r y s t i t c h e s : o,, 45

An I g a l a e m b r o i d e r a t work: ,.. . o o o 46

L .) The Asu s t a f f : O o o m o o c o o - o e o 51 ,

DEFlNiTlON OF TERMS

The f o l l o w i n g o p e r a t i o n a l terms l i k e Egwu (Masquerade)

masking t r a d i t i o n , I q a l a mela ( t h e n i n e I g a l a r o y a l c l a n s ) ,

I q a l o g w a ( t h e m i g r a n t c l a n s ) , ~ t t a ( f a t h e r or t h e k i n g of

I g a l a ) , ~ g w u - A t t a ( t h e r o y a l masquerades 1, A t t a i t t ~ I

< 3 --7 - -

1 ,

( t h e d e s c e n d e n t s of, nth'e-%;k+)-,- E.qwu--Af i a ( t h e a n c e s t r a l \ I

" t a l k i n g t t masquerades f rpm ~ q o r u ) , Oche ( a m a j o r I g a l a - f e s t i v a l ) , okwula ( a f e s t i v a l o f - - . ~ d ~ r u a r e a ) , ~ g o n &

'

' ( t h e yam f e s t i v a l a t I b a j i ) , Eqbe ( a f e s t i v a l a t ~ g u m e ) ,

~ n e - O c h o (Ocho f e s t i v a l g r o u n d ) , Ababi ( a r i t u a l b u r i d l - c l o t h ) , amulu ( r i t u a l c l o t h ) , Uqbabo ( r e d and b l a c k r o b e s ) ,

a i n o j i ( n i n e tombs of t h e Eguma c h i e f s ) , Okwute * r i t u a l

s t z f f ) , O r a c h i n ( a s a c r e d tree o r mask) , Ache i a powercu l

s a c r e d t r e e ) , Okwute mela ( n i n e r i t u a l s t a f f s ) , Ere-Ane

(a s a c r e d ground o r p l a c e ) , Ateebo ( t h e p a l a c e p r i e s t ) ,

Obaude ( a r o y a l s h r i n e ) , O b i - I g a l a ( f o u r l o b e d I g a l a

k o l a n u t ) , - u l o k o ( a s a c r e d b i r d t s f e a t h e r ) , a i b ~ ( m e d i c i n e ) __.._^_

m o n a Onu EqUma ( a p r i e s t of Egbe f e s t i v a l ) , -..-a ~ c h c l c u a-

( l i t t l e r o o f s of O n u l s tomb) Atakpa a ( m e d i c i n e ) o r

'bedroom) ~ n y i - e b o ( a n c e s t r a l f a m i l y s h r ~ n e ) , O r a - - .-.a g g d e w u ( ~ g b e r o y a l p r i e s t ) , Ote-egwu ( a masque rade ) ,

Okcga ( a r i t u a l c a r v ~ n g ) , ~ j u b c j u - a i l 0 ( t h e A t t a t s r o y a l __uw.

i n s i g n i a ) , 3 ( a r i t u a l s t a f f u s e d by t h e A t t a d u r i n g

Ocho f e s t i v a l ) , Aru K e k e l e ( s m a l l e r r l t u a l s t a f f ) , -- Onu

(beaded c h l e f a r e d e f i n e d w l t h i n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e study,

ESU mask ing tradition i s t h e t o t a l l t y of t h e visual - >-

, 3 a r a p h e r n a l i a employed d u r ~ n g t h e festivals, T h c s c

i n c l u d e t h e m u m a s q u e r a d e s , m u s i c a l i n s t r u m e n t s ,

s h r i n e s , s i g n s a n d s y m b o l s i n v o l v e d i n t h e r i t u a l

p r o c c s s e s , f u r n i t u r e , t i t u l a r objects , T h e s e vigual

p a r a p h e r n a l i a c o n s t i t u t e t h e I g a l a ~ r t , I n t h i s s t u d y ,

g r e a t e r a t t e n t i o n i s f o c u s e d o n t h e g r e a t e s t a r t i s t i c

i n d e x r e p r e s e n t i n g a c r o s s - s e c t i o n of t h e e n t i r e a r t

forms i n t h e I g a l a c l u s t e r a f f e c t i n g t h e soc ia l and #

r e l i g i o u s l i v e s o f t h e p e o p l e ,

AMual f e s t i v a l s marked by cu l t u r a l r i t e s , convivia l i ty

and masquerading, the Iga la ~ r t and f e s t i v a l t r a d i t i o n has

survived as a l iv ing cu l tu re whose indigenous t r ad i t i ona l

f e a tu r e s have not been adulterated by contemporaxy developments. +

I n this study, the researcher probes t h e aes the t i cs contents

of the Iga l a cu l t s , t h e i r evolving iconography, and the

po ten t ia l of the f e s t i v a l s a s a resource f o r f u r t he r invest igat ions

i n t o tile ~ r t of the Igala, It could a l s o serve a s a source f o r

conteniporary visual communication designs.

, A - . a .

TABLE OF C ~ I & E N V .. \

T I T L E PAGE: 0 0 o o a I % .

m o p < , o\qAq. 0 .0 v r o 0 - 0

CERTIFICATTON: l m o o 'oo,o, 0 .0 ..o e o .

AE'PROVAL PAGE: 0 o o i-.o o o o o o o o

DEDICjlTION: 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OD m o o

A C K N O W L E D G ~ ~ T I .,. 0 0 0 00 .0 0 .0

PREFACE: ... 0 . o o o o o m o o o o o - 0 0 .om

TABLE OF CONTENTS: , 0. 0 o 0 . 0 orno

L I S T O F PLATES: o o o o o o o .om o 0 0 -

L I S T OF ILLUSTRATIONS: 0.0 0 0 0 . 0 o o r 0.0

T H E S I S ABSTRACT: 0.. o o o a 0 0 0 .0 - 0 0 0 .0

MAP OF I G R L h LAND: 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 .0 8 . 0 0 0 -

CHAPTER ONE: I N T R 0 D U C T I 0 N: ... ,,, ... L i t e r a t u r e R e v i e w r . ,.. ..o

M e t h o d o l o g y : o o o o *.. o . o o o o

Statement of P r o b l e m : .O. S a m O.O

O b j e c t i v e of t he Study: o o o o ~ o

Significance of Study: . . o q o

History of the People; . ,.. CHAPTER TWD: SOME NOTABLE FE;STIVW;S I N I W k LAND

Egwu Festival: .,. ... . o o.. . o w

O c h o Fes t iva l , . . . . . . . . O g a n y i g a n y i Festival:... . . ... E g b e Festival: , . . . . , . . . . . . O k w u l a Festival:.. O O O o ... . r o e

E g o n y e Festival : .O.O . O . O o o m .

CHkPTER THREE: W K S AND MEiSQUElWDES

M a s k s : ,,, . . . o o .

The M a s q u e r a d e s : . . o r .

PAGE - .O. i ,.. i i . iii o 0 . i v - 0 0 v 0 . . vi . v i i 0 0 . i x 0 0 0 X

0 xi 0 x i i

P l a t e s -- I(*

LIST OF PLATES

A t y p i c a l l g a l a mask u s e d d u r i n g f u n e r a l and f e s t i v a l ce remony , ... o..

A c r o c o d i l e s h a p e d mask u s e d d u r l n g Mabolo f e s t i v a l ( ~ g a b a d e ) : , ~ . a o o

O r a c h i n c o s t u m e showing t h e added a p p l ~ q u e d s t a r s ; m o o . O o Q O O

The I k e l e k u Ahuma mask

A d i f f e r e n t t y p e of I g a l a wooden u s e d d u r i n g t h e f e s t i v a l s

O r a c h i n mask head d r e s s ,.. ~ j u b e j u a i l o mask ,,,

Otegwu mask: o o

Egwu O r a ~ a m u mask . .. Egwu A n y a k a t o r o mask:

Ekwe Roya l masque rade

Agbanabo masquerade :

I n e l e k p e masquerade :

Epe masquerade : 6 0 ,

I c h a w u l a masquerade :

Odumado masquerade : . o o o 0

I k e l e k u Ahuma masque rade : . O b a j e Adeka masquerade : , ",

m e 0

0 0 0

mask 0 0 0

0 0 .

0 0 0

0 0 Q

O Q ?

0..

0 0 0

0 0 0

r o o

0 0 0

0 0 .

. .O

- 0 Q

- 0 0

0 0 0

a m -

0..

0 . 0

o o e

0 0 .

m o o

e 0 0

O q Q

*a0

0 0 .

0 0 0

0 . 0

0.0

..a

0 l 0

- 0 O

Egwu ~f i a m a s q u e r a d e : , . . , . , 38

T h e n i n e W k w u t e melavs s t a f f s : ,,, o o o ,. 4 C

T h e "Okwute U l e s l r i t u a l s t a f f : . a m e 41

o j o A t t a : , . . o, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O.O m o o a g e 42

An Ucha d e s i g n e d p o t : a O O 44

T h e t h r e e m a j o r I g a l a e m b r o i d e r y s t i t c h e s : , , , 45

An I g a l a e m b r o i d e r a t work: , . , , , . o , 46

T h e ASU s t a f f : .,,, . O O c o o ,,.. . o o 51 ,

S c a l e :

......, a i s t r i c t B c u ~ d a r y

. T e r r i t o r i a l B o u n d a r y

MAP OF IGit,LR LAND(Showing t h e D i s t r i c t s and t h s - D i a l e c t a l s r o u p s 3 . ---

CHAPTER ONE

I N T R O D U C T l O N -- ~ i t e r a t u r e Review: LA- ---

I n s t u d y i n g t h e o r i g i n s o f t h e a r t i s t i c t r a d i t i o n o f

-ame A f r i c a n c u l t u r e s o n e 1s bound t o bzcome i n t e r e s t e d

>..I t h e t r a d i t i o n a l f e s t i v a l s o f t h e I g a l a p e o p l e , I g a l a

= ) r t and f e s t i v a l s h a s .I ~t b e e n f u l l y documented as wcls t h e

-.;ise o f t h e T i v their n e l y h b o u r s , I g a l a f e s t i v a l s arc

c e l e b r a t e d a n n u a l l y t o e n a b l e t h e l i v i n g beings commune w i t h

'-he d e a d a n c e s t o r s and a t t h e same t i m e m a i n t a i n ,the c o r d i a l

harmony and p r o g r e s s w i t h i n t h e , soc i e ty , John S. B o s t o n

( 1 ' w 1 2 0 ) d i s c u s s e d a b o u t t h e significance o f c a r v i n g s and

o t l -7r r l t u a l items i n I g a l a P P t h a t t h e l g a l a u s e ..,- i b c l c g w u L . . . .....

ar c s t r a l c a r v i n g s i n t h e I b a j i a r e a , w h l l e i n o t h ~ r 2r~;is

al 'ound I d a h s t a f f s known as okwu te were u s e d if t h c --- a r : c \ : s t o r i s t i t l e d f P a s p a r t o f t h e ritual ltems u s e d d u r i n g

t b - t r a d i t i o n a l f e s t ~ v a l s i n I g a l a l a n d , H e went f u r t h c r

t o ..;tate t h a t . t h e s e c u l t symbo l s s t a n d f o r t h e c o n k i n u i n g

r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e d e a d and f o r t h e q u a l i t i e s and o t h e r

." b c n ~ f i t s t h a t e a c h p e r s o n h a s in&?;l. :. :..c'. 5rom t h e p ~ l s t * , .

Tom ~ i a c h i (1980: 1 5 ) t h r e w more l i g h t on t h e l g a l a f!:St.5' ,

t h a t lq , , . in I g a l a , m a s q u e r a d e s a r e u s e d t o drarnatiml: ' t h e

r e l a t i o n s h i p t h a t e x i s t s be tween t h e w o r l d of t h e d e a d

on o c c a s s i o n s when t h e a n c e s t o r s r e t u r n t o e a r t h t o

commune w l t h t h e l i v i n g l i k c d u r i n g f u n e r a l s , t r a d i t i o n a l

LYWU f e s t i v a l s , I n d i s c u s s i n g a b o u t I g a l a f e s t i v a l s . -- -.. .. there i s need t o m e n t i o n t h e significance o f masks b ~ l r l ~ ~

t t l c m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t , ~ r t f o r m s and t h e mos t p u b l i c v i s u a l

are p r o d u c e d i n o r d e r t o e n a b l e t h e s o u l s o f t h e d t :~d , o r

Lhe p r o t e c t i v e s p i r i t s o f t h e v i l l a g e o r s o c i z t y 'LO o,l.,icc #

t h c ; i r appear?.ncr- i n t a n g i b l e o r v i s i b l e f o rm , o r for ti-ic

d r a m a t i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f m y s t i c a l a ~ t l o n , ~ ' To~n M i l c h i

(1~80: 1 1 ) went f u r t h e r t o a s s e r t t h a t v s , O , i n I y a l n

t h o u g h t , t h e i r masks o r m a s q u e r ~ d e s a r e t h e l r d c a d

a ~ l c e s t o r s a p p e a r i n g t o t h e thcm on spL?c1 a l occ,:?:; ion::

t o i n t e r a c t and communica te wlth t h emn=

V a r i o u s d e s l g n m o t i f s o r symbo l s were f o u n d on X 2 a l a

a r t f o r m s e s p e c i a l l y t h e r l - t u a l o b j e c t s s u c h a s inas;:s, t ; ic

n lasquerades and s o on , B o s t o n , J o S o (1980: 1 2 2 ) a s s i ! r t cd

t h a t P P O t h e p r e s e n c e of c o i l e d s n a k e s on t h e fore l - ]cad

of some Bassa-Nge masks and s cu ! -p t c r ca , a ~ d ConPC - I - " ' -

s q u a r e scarifications a r c a l s o f o u n d on some - Olcccja - -,. -. s c u l p t u r e s E 1 d e p i c t i n g t h e I g b o i n f l u e n c e on I g a l a a r t .

3 (a O t h e r i t e m s l i k e b r o n z e b e l l s were a t t a c h e d t o t h ~

r o b e s of t h e masque rades and K,Ce Murray (1944:15) t h r e w

aom? l i g h t when h e s t a t e d t h a t s t , e . t h e o v a l b e l l s worn a t

t h e bo t tom e d g e of t h e Ekwe r o y a l masquerade c a n bu f o u n d

e l s e w h e r e , e s p e c i a l l y a t Nsukka and I n t h e s h r i n c s i n t h c

' d a b a r r e g i o n t t , On t h e r o l e of t h e a r t i s t i n l g a l c

f z s t i v a l s , F r a n c o i s Nyet (1985: 68) ment loned t h d t i : , .e thc

I g a l a l i k e any t y p i c a l A f r l c a n a r t l s t sees i n t h c h o r n s

of rams and e n t e l o p e s , t h e t u s k s of e l e p h a n t s , t h e c l a w s

and b e a k s of b l r d s and t h e s h e l l s of s n a i l s 7 a p r i n c i p l e #

of g rowth and of t h e i n c r e a s e of manls l i f c f o r c e o r

n a t r a l poweresl his p r o v e s t h a t some a r t forms s u c h a s

mas'-s a r e u sed a s p a r t of t h e r i t u a l s i n I g a l a festivals

t o deepen t h e p e o p l e ' s v i r t u e s i n t h e s o c i e t y ,

The I g a l a c o n t a c t w l t h t h e ~ r n e i g h b o u r s - t h e Yoruba,

J u k 7 m 7 B i n i and Edo, t h e I g b i r r a and Nupe h a s i n f l u c n c k d

t h - l r method of p r o d u c t i o n of some art forms u s e d i n t h c

f e s t i v a l s , Doug la s F r a s e r and C o l e (1972: 3 5 ) conf ir incd

t h i s by a s s e r t i n g t h a t oOSorne r e s e m b l a n c e s e x ~ s t behwc?cn

t h e Yoruba masks G e l e d e and some I g a l a masksss, K,C*

Mur ray (1944:23) t h r e w more l i g h t when h e n o t e d t h a t

P 2 e e . t h e s t y l e of I g a l a c a r v l n g s were Jukun i n o r i g i n , ! ~ a s ? d

on D r , Passa rgeDs drawlag of a similar kind of mask which i s

c a l l e d a Jukun dance mask j.n a book t i t l e d "hdamana" published i n

Beolin i n 1895, Tom Miachi (1980: 126) went f u r t h e r t o assess the

~ i l c e s t r a l r i t u a l s t a f f s of t h e I g a l a t h a t they were ".,,carved

!-n t h e form of masks representing t h e nL?e r u l e r s of I g a l a which

i esemble t h e carved s t a f f s of Ogboni c u l t and a c l o s e look a t

l he shapes would prove t h a t -the technique was e i t h e r of Yoruba o r

Benin or ig in ," Chike Dike (:L9??: 98) s t a t e d t h a t t h e royal masqnerade

-.&we holds i n h i s hands a b rass s t a f f with two janiform heads, #

This skaff serves t h e Ekwe .to symbolically h i t t h e Atta, confirming

and re inforc ing t h e f a c t t h a t t h e Lkwe mask symbolises t h e r i k u a l

and p o l i t i c a l au thor i ty of t h e k t t a e t l This confirms t h e notion

thar. t h e r e a r e c e r t a i n symbolic elements which enhances t h e r i t u a l

anc': v i sua l d i sp lay i n t h e I g a l a f e s t i v a l s ,

F, ~xyet - A r t s of t h e Eenue - Lannoo T i e l t 19e5 9 - i3 elgimi

Methodology

The fieldwork f o r t h i s t h e s i s was based on pa r t i c ipan t

observation m e t b x l which has become a useful , i f not a necessary,

method of gathering da ta and very much puts t h e researcher i n t h e

pos i t ion t o , a s it were, see th ings f o r himself. Dalton (1959) has

shown how par t i c ipan t observation can enable t h e researcher t o seeg

note and descr ibe c e r t a i n l a t e n t prac t ices and codes, which I refer

t o a s rlinner circlelc o r e s o t e r i c knowledge. such knowledge is #

c r u c i a l as it underl ies t h e essence of t h e public performances t h a t

w e see cn t h e street o r i n t h e public arena.

~ f f e c t i v e pa r t i c ipan t observation therefore would enable the

researcher t o have a r e a l l i f e experience, an ac tua l f e e l i n g af t h e

s i t u a t i b n he i s studyihg and he lp him t o develop h i s hypothesis.

The researcher, whether na t ive k r fore ign, needs a l o t of t a c t and

s e n s i t i v i t y t o be accepted aS r e a l ins ider . his research method

gave m e t h e opportunity t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e various and notable

f e s t i v a i s where I tias dble t o observe the tkpes of art forms, t h e

general art experience of t h e people, t h e dharac te r i s t i c s oe t h e art

'...-ca terms of the& s h a w s ) design$, symboiic s igni f icance ,

t h e colours used, how and where they were obtainedm I took a

c r i t i c a l view of t h e art elements as symbolic Zorces i n t h e f e s t i v a l s

and a s p a r t of t h e t r a d i t i o n of t h e people. I a l s o analysed t h e

types of t o o l s used i n t h e production of t h e art works used i n t h e

f e s t i v a l s ranging from t h e carving t o o l s t o t h e embroidery t o o l s

nsed on t h e r e g a l i a of t h e masquerades. I pa r t i c ipa ted i n some of

t h e r i t u a l s involved i n t h e preparat ions f o r t h e f e s t i v a l s t o some

degree, t o enable m e assess t h e type of t o o l s used and p a r t of t h e

methods of production of such tools . Furthermore, I had t o s t a y with

some carvers t o a sce r t a in the techniques applied, how they conceptualize

t h e ideas , the pigncnts used i n colourat ion of t h e masks, t h e pa t t e rns

o r designs used on the masks, and t h e i r symbolic s ignif icance.

he weavers and t a i l o r s who produce t h e f a b r i c s and appliqued mater ia ls

f o r t h e masquerade r e g a l i a were a l s o observed t o enable t h e researcher

# s e e t h e type of yarns used, how the: xere produced, t h e method of

production i n t h e case of woven mater ia ls , t h e dyeing techniques,

how t h e pa t t e rns o r designs were made, c u t out and sewn on the

f a b r i c s and what have you.

I a l s o s tayed with t h e smiths and p o t t e r s t o observe how they

embossed t h e masks, r i t u a l s taffs used i n the f e s t i v a l s , t h e method

of producing the b e l l s hung on t h e wais ts of masquerades among

others , The po t t e r s ! techniques of producing t h e various r i t u a l

pots a s w e l l a s t h e ceremonial pots used before and during t h e

f e s t i v a l s w e r e a l s o observed. in ally, I was ab le t o observe t h e

methods of appl ica t ion of the various pa t terns on t h e body as p a r t

of decorat ion by t h e i n i t i a t e s of t h e masking t r a d i t i o n , t h e

s c a r i f i c a t i o n s and the symbolic designs used.

~ u r i n g t h e f i e l d work, I h ~ , ' t o fo rce myself t o l e a r n the

I g a l a language t o a c e r t a i n degree t o enable m e i n t e r a c t with t h e

l o c a l people who o f t en loo?^ with suspicion whenever they s i g h t a

s t ranger i n t h e i r midst, I have got used t o t h e i r types of food

without which one would have found it d i f f i c u l t t o mix with the people

and ge t c lose r t o them t o enable him acquire t h e information he

required, I n most cases, one has t o befriend t he youths who serve

a s guides o r intermediaries between t h e researcher and t h e e lde rs who

i n tu rn seek f o r f inancia l reward f o r giving t h e required informa-

t i o n because of t h e i r bel ief t h a t "the g o v e r n a t sen t him ( t h e

researcher) t o ge t the information f o r which he has been paid."

STATENE:JrC OF PROBLEM : - - -------, - Vario~ls ;)rt f o r 1s and c'eq<gn motifs exis ted i n the c u l t u r a l l i f e

of t h e I g a l a peoy,:--., Put s:i,icc t h e :i,lception of C h r i s t i a n i t y and formal

education, ';??t. u.;e of tfLcse 1.:::. forms and design motifs i n the l i f e

- f '.he people, si?m t o Le ialcinq a downward 'curno Craf ts , body

accorat ion: masks a ~ d v ~ c - ? - a d , ? ? . , th? areas where these motifs w e r e

rtldinly used, are f a s t b, CT)T?;TIU a khing 02 t h e past , And those who

apply o r s t i l l a ~ p s e c i a t c t h i m 2 r ~ regarded a s conservative,

Bcfore t h e inf luence of w-stern c u l t u r e f o r ins tance , it was a

,ommon pract ict- ~ z p e c i a l l y fo-: wcxnm: t o c-hawc th2j.r na tu ra i beauty 4

with some form 05 bcdy ddzora5on using t h e tredi t icrnal dcsiyn mo-tif$,

khc ' i.i.,~.:-3:zy end cri~~-i.:I cr' -:'> .-::. r ,.r As-cic :-.r,ldi.kions , which are of t e n

comr ' c x with numerous in+l~lon:A.;l fac'zor:; . ,"?me of which arc socio-

pol ' t i c a l and t o a ;)L :L L <iL t e n t ecr. T;. I. L -he locatio-I of t h e

a r t components i n t h e d e s t i v a l s cannot divorce thcmselv-c, from t h e

socio-rel igious l i f e of t h e people, The masking t r a d i t i o n and t h e

r o l e of t h e art works i n t h e f e s t i v a l s have t o b e looked i n t o , being

p a r t of t h e i r cu l tu re . This s tudy i s geared towards documentation of

t h e most s i g n i f i c a n t f e s t i v a l s i n I g a l a land and t h e A r t t h a t i s

involved i n those f e s t i v a l s .

This w i l l help i n c rea t ing an awareness of t h e a r t i s t i c t reasures

of t h e Iga la , t h e r e l a t ionsh ip between t h e sacred r i t u a l a r t and

t h e socio-pol i t ica l p rac t i ces of t h e people, This presenta t ion may b e #

a good reference mater ia l f o r f u r t h e r inves t iga t ion ir i to t h e Art of t h e

I gal a peopl eo

OWECTIVE Q!? THE RESEARCH 7

. various design motiffs exis ted i n t h e a r t works depicted i n t h e

cu l t u r a l l i f e of t h e Igala people most especia l ly t h e i r t r ad i t i ona l festivi

But s ince the inception of Chr i s t i an i ty and formal education, t he use of t l

design motifs i n t he l i f e of t he people, seem t o be taking downward tu rn ,

A r t works and body decorations, the areas where these motifs were mainly

used, are f a s t becoming a thing of the past, And those who apply ar sti:

apprecia t? them are regarded as e i t he r conservative o r out of t he way.

Before the influence of western cu l tu re , it was a common pract ice

espec ia l ly f o r women, t o enhance t h e i r natura l beauty with some form of boc

decoration using the t r ad i t i ona l design motif so The r i t u a l ob jecb , masks,

t e x t i l e s , masquerades and other f e s t i she s were decorated with some motifs

t h a t are symbolic t o the people, Rut today, t h e t r ad i t i ona l r e l i g ion

i s f a s t dying out along w i t h some r i t u a l objects and the motifs. With t he

r a t e a t which these symbolic motifs are disappearing from the socie ty , it i

feared t h a t i n t h e near f u tu r e , they may completely disappear and t he r e me

not be the r i g h t people t o give information concerning how they were

practiced, his research pra,ject is therefore faced with t he following

(i) To present as f a r a s possible, a de ta i l ed docmentation of the design

motifs i n t he Iga la f e s t i v a l s and perhaps h w they r e l a t e t o t he l i f e

of the people.

( i i ) To f i n d out i f there are specia l design motifs from d i f f e r en t groups

of people or objects.

(iii) To f i nd out i f the re are motifs which perform special functions - f o r

example, i f the re are motifs associated with the de i t i e s .

( i v ) To f i n d out the o r i g ina l i t y of t h e a r t works and t he t oo l s used i n

making them.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The essence of documentation is t o perpetuate h i s to ry , hence

t h i s research in tends t o record t h e ethno-aesthetic implicat ions

of mt i n t h e Iga la c u l t u r a l f e s t i v a l s before they canpletely

disappear* Tradi t ional design motifs i s an aspect of I g a l a

t r a d i t i o n a l a r t which has stimulated a l o t of i n t e r e s t t o scnne

scholars i n recen t t i m e s , very l i t t l e has been wr i t t en on m

these motifs and other art works among t h e Igala.

Hence, apar t from co l l ec t ing and analysing t h e v i sua l

design motifs of t h e people, this work w i l l be an addit ional

contr ibut ion t o t h e ex i s t ing l i t e r a t u r e and documentary sess ion

on Iga la mt and t h e i r f e s t iva l s . ~t t h e end of t h i s research,

it i s expected t h a t t h e various designs and motifs found i n t h e

Art of t h e Iga la would have been analysed and put together a s a

resource of Visual communicationu

History of t h e People: ,-

According t o l o c a l sources t h e I g a l a people migrated from t h e

north-eastern p a r t of Africa moving south westwards towards t h e present day

Sudan and l a t e r moved f u r t h e r southwards t o t h e present day Nigeria,

c ross inq t h e Savannah region u n t i l they reached t h e Niger-Benue

confluence. A t t h a t point , some of these migrants decided t o take a

r e s t and look around f o r food t o enable them continue t h e i r journey.

The o ther pa r ty were l e f t t o look a f t e r t h e i r belongings a t t h e i r camps,

Af ter a long waiting and guarding, t h e l a t t e r pa r ty decided t o leave '

t h e camp and continue t h e journey f u r t h e r south leaving t h e i r colleagues

behind, assuming t h a t they have been eaten up by wild beas ts ,

However, some loca l communities i n Iga la land t e l l t h e s t o r y of t h e i r

o r i g i n i n t h e form of &$her a c lan o r a l ineage pedigree going . back t o a founder who i s described as a hunter by profession.

Typically i n these legends, t h e founder i s sa id t o have come t o t h e

l o c a l i t y from elsewhere and t o have found it so good f o r hunting

t h a t he decided t o remain and make a new home, This g rea t hunter

i s hyegba Oma Idoko and h i s hunting camp becomes a permanent

se t t lement i n whose a f f a i r s t h e hun te r ' s family ( t h e present royal

c l an ) play a leading r o l e , and a f t e r h i s death h i s descendants

form t h e dominant c l a n o r l ineage i n t h e a rea (Igalagwa). 1

1, Boston, J,S, "The Hunter i n I g a l a Legend of Origin," Afr ica Vo1,34, No029 1964, --.-A

Accordi-ng 50 c e r t a i n schools of thought, Ayegba was e lec ted

t h e l eader of the indigenous group, :=la --, mela by some e lde r s of t h e

c l an when, they discovered his s t r ~ n g h t i n medicine and hunting.

l'pon h i s e l ec t ion ;IS t h ~ i r leader , he organised an army t o r ebe l

aga ins t t h e Jukun overlords which r e s u l t e d i n t h e i r freedom from

. h e yokes of t h e Jukun monarci~y, Other schools of thought had i t

h a t o r a l t r a d i t i o n s have l inked t.he people t o t h e Yoruba whose #

language shares many words and sentences i n common with t h e I g a l a

2 'mguage, t o t h e Jukun with whom wars of insubordinat ion w e r e

fought ( f o r it was t h e Jukun t h a t exerted some inf luence on I g a l a

land and t h e present r u l i n g dynasty i n Idah i s of Jukun o r i g i n ' ,

and to t h e Nupe whose monarchy foundcd hy t h e cherished Nupe leader

Tsoede o r Edegi; t o t h e Bini who according t o c e r t a i n schools of

thovght, were s a i d t o be t h e progenitors of t h e present monarchy,

3 t h e lit ta-ate. The Kingdom had a l s o es tabl i shed i t s inf luence

among t h e Igbo of northern Nsukka, examples of indigenous

4 colonial ism i n Africa,

--- - 2, i m s t r o n g , R,G, "Peoples of t h e Niger Benue Confluence"

Ethnographic survey of Afr ica 1955 p-77-90, -- 3, Shelton, A, Iqho-Iqala Borderland: Religion & Socia l Control ---

i n Indigenous African colonial ism 1971, p,19-24.

4. Boston, J,S, The I q a l a Kin2om 1963 p-25, -

According td Bostcn, J,S, t h e I g a l a re ta ined no formal knowledge

of t h e i r h i s to ry before t h e seventeenth century5 and Cl i f fo rd Miles

went f u r t h e r t o argue t h a t ki3gship was es tabl ished a t Idah by a

migration from Wukari, i n which the Jukun royal house was involved

which resu l t ed i n one of t h e members q a t married t o an Idoma woman

L'oe ejonu kr.own t o he the f i r s t Atta of Iga la , Cl i f ford maintains

tha t the re was no e a r l i e r dynasty a t Idah, but only a system of , government i n which the heads of the indigenous f ~ m i l i e s o r Iga la

,qv2la par t ic ipated , , , " there was i n those days no form of (government)

c e n t r a l organisat ion, the t r i b e consis t ing of a number of moieties each

under i ts own pat r iach o r pe t ty c h i e f t a i n ; these l a t t e r , n ine i n number,

w e r f t h e pr imi t ive f a t h e r s of Iqala. Y t

According t o Mr. C, Pat r idge ( D i s t r i c t Commissioner, Lagos 1908)

"It. confirms Capt, Byng-Hall s extremely i n t e r e s t i n g account of t h e

Division of t h e s t r a n g e r f s descendants i n t o four branches, who i n

t u r r provide an At ta , bu t h i s statement t h a t t h i s s t r anger ' s

e l 3 c s t son 's family s p l i t up i n t o two of these branches i s addit ional ,

The version t o l d m e was t h a t the f i r s t At ta was a woman, Lbbelejjono,

but she may have been the Okpoto woman whom t h e s t ranger married."' -.I-"* - ---.-l--rr----.------

5, Boston, J e S o The I q a l a Kinc&om 1963 p-250 -- -. -->. - -. *

6. Notes on Basse Komo Tribe i n I g a l a Division - XLIV, 1944, ~ ~ 1 0 7 ,

7, Patridge "A Kte on Iqa ra Tribe, Journal of African Society. Vo1.8, 1908,

Occupation

Owing t o the geographical locat ion of t h e I g a l a Kingdom, farming,

hunting and f i s h i n g remain t h e dominant occupation of the people u n t i l

r eccn t ly when they took t o p e t t y t rading m d small s c a l e business,

;.s it comes i n t o being each hamlet i s given enough farming land by

L'ie chicf (appointed by 'che h t t a ) f o r i t s members' needs, together

vvlth r i g h t s over t r e e crops i n c e r t a i n areas of secondary f o r e s t and

woodland. Yam c u l t i v a t i o n , which t h e I g a l a value highly, combined

with l a r g e s c a l e ~ u l t i v a t i o n of maize, makes the whole operat ion of

p lant ing yams be wmpleted i n t h e dry season, leaving t h e farmer f r e q

t o concentrate on maize and other savannah crops i n t h e r e l a t i v e l y

shor t ra iny season,

fgalaland being bordered by t h e r i v e r Niger and Benue i n t h e

nor th and west respect ively encourage f i s h i n g indust ry which t h e

Iga las cherish during the ra iny season and p a r t of t h e dry season.

The two r i v e r s provide enough f i s h f o r consumption and export t o

t h e neighbouring s t a t e s a s a source of revenue. Hunting, which i s

an inpor tan t a c t i v i t y of t h e I g a l a i s very w e l l recognised as an

o c c u ~ a t i o n , The land forms an area t h a t af fords almost i d e a l

condit ions f o r a g rea t va r i e ty of game t o f lour i sh , The animals t h a t

a r e constant ly mentioned i n I g a l a leqends include elephant, buffalo/

bush cow9 leopards, antelopes and many others.

CHAPTER TWO

SONS NOTABLEASTIVALS I N IGALALAND --- I n Igalaland, the most notable f e s t i v a l s are s i x i n number,

and these a r e celebrated a t d i f f e r e n t periods before and a f t e r

t h e ra iny season. The f i r s t being t h e ~ g w u f e s t i v a l followed by

Ocho f e s t i v a l , Oganyiganyi f e s t i v a l , Egbe festival, Okule f e k i v a l and 1

Egonyi f e s t i v a l , These f e s t i v a l s a r e celebrated annually t o

commune with t h e ancestors t h e Fbegwu who watch over the

d e s t i n i e s of t h e e n t i r e Iga la people. Each f e s t i v a l w i l l be

t r e a t e d as an e n t i t y so as t o give a c l e a r p ic tu re of what itb

e n t a i l s .

( a ) ~ g w u ~ e s t i v a l - --- --- The word lf~gwuS1 i n Iga la language c a r r i e s two conceptually

r e l a t e d meanings, on t h e orie hand, it means !masqueradel! and on t h e

o the r llthe dead'!, connoting the ! t ances to r s ,~~ I n I g a l a thought,

t h e i r masquerades are t h e i r dead ancestors appearing to them on

s p e c i a l bnccassions t o i n t e r a c t and communicate with them. 13

I n o ther words t h e dead a re t h e masquerades and vice-versa. The

Egwu f e s t i v a l therefore i s t h e ce lebra t ion i n memory of t h e departed

adu l t s of I g a l a socie ty and s ince the ancestors a re so c e n t r a l

i n gala re l ig ious phenmmenon, the Iga la regard t h e ~ g w u

f e s t i v a l a s the most important of a l l t h e annual f e s t i v a l . 14

13. Tom Miachi - Masquerades as agents of s o c i a l Control among t h e Igala : A paper presented a t the University of London 1980:11

14. Pers, comm: Okpanachi ~ n e f o l a Idah, 1989,

The ~ g w u f e s t i v a l programme l a s t s f o r nine days marked by f i v e

days of e s s e n t i a l r i t u a l a c t i v i t y and in terspersed with f o u r days

of ea t ing , drinking and merry-making. The first day on t h e programme

i s t h e most important; t h i s being t h e day t h e Atta personally

o f f e r s s a c r i f i c e s t o the memory of h i s l a s t '.nine predecessors. 15

The ceremony cons i s t s of immolating nine goats , one each t o the

s p i r i t of the nine pas t ~ t t a s , each represented by an Okwute.

On t h e second day, t h e ~ t t a o f f e r s morsels of pounded yam, drops of

l o c a l l y brewed beer and kolanuts each t o t h e remembered ~ t t a .

On t h e t h i r d day t h e blood of t h e s a c r i f i c e d animals i s poured

neat ly unto t h e upper p a r t of each of t h e ofcwute and prayers are

of fe red accordingly.

On t h e f o u r t h day, each of t h e ~ t t a being remembered i s invoked

by name and requested t o look a f t e r the welfare *f t h e present ~ t t a

and h i s subjec ts , On t h e f i f t h day, t h e people assemble a t E r e Ane -- where t h e Atebo palace p r i e s t r e l a y s t h e A t t a t s message t o t h e

people on behalf of the ~ t t a , his is concluded by paying homage

t o t h e ~ t t a by members of t h e royal l ineage a t h i s palace e a r l y

i n the morning and then r e t i r e t o t h e i r homes t o continue the m e r r y

making, ea t ing and drinking f o r the next four days,

( b ) Ocho F e s t i v a l -. ---

~ h i s i s t h e second most important annual f e s t i v a l i n galal land

and serves dual functions - a hunting exe rc i se and a dramatization

of a hunting c u l t u r e which is a cardinal a c t i v i t y i n t h e I g a l a

soc ie tyo It i s s o important an a c t i v i t y t h a t it i s dramatized

year ly t o honour the s p i r i t s of t h e brave and courageous ances tors ,

t h e antecedents of t h e I g a l a Kingdom, The f i r s t i t e m i n t h e programme

i s t r iggered off when the Atta o f f e r s s a c r i f i c e s t o t h e royal

p ro tec t ive c u l t s i t u a t e d a t Obande i n a sh r ine enclosed wi th in t h e

palace wa l l s , which i s a powerful s p i r i t t h a t has the a t t r i b u t e s

of good and e v i l but which can protec t i t s owner from the harm

of o ther malevolent s p i r i t s ,

~t t h e ocho ground, ~ne-Ocho, v i s i t i n g hunters and t h e hunters - from the v i c i n i t y of t h e Ane 0ch6 a r e organized i n hunting bhnds,

l e d by appointed experienced hunters. The n t t a is t h e leader of

t h e hunting bands and symbolically goes out i n t o an enclosure t o

r e t u r n l a t e r t o t h e arena with game purportedly k i l l e d i n a hunt.

The w a r d ress t h a t the ~ t t a puts on a l s o points t o the m i l i t a r y

dimension of t h e ocho f e s t i v a l . part from the c lo th ing and medicine P

wrapped up i n various s t y l e s t h a t the Atta puts on, he a l s o

holds a spear and an i r o n s t a f f Aru decorated zoomorphically, mainly - with wild carnivorous animals, depict ing s t r eng th and .dpro..r 2ss as

a b i l i t y t o k i l l the enemy successful ly.

One of the major events on t h e ocho programme i s t h e search - of t h e royal masquerades, I n t h i s a c t i v i t y , t h e masquerades are

each kept a t hiding places and search p a r t i e s go out t o f i n d them

i n t h e i r h ie ra rch ica l turn. The f i r s t being Obaje Adeka whose - - duty during the Ocho f e s t i v a l i s t o r i d the land of a l l witches - and a l l malevolent s p i r i t s before the commencement of the f e s t i v a l ,

The next masquerade t q be found i s usually Ekwe, the premier -

masquerade of t h e Iga la , followed by the o the rs i n l i n e of senior i ty .

Each of these masquerades goes t o pay homage t o the Atta, but before

then, each i s obliged t o go f i r s t t o ~kwe t o pay him homage and - o f f a t o r y dues i n the form of four kolanuts, - Obi-Igala (four-lobed),

required before they can pa r t i c ipa te i n t h e Ocho f e s t i v a l .

he use of masquerades i n t h e Ocho f e s t i v a l i s suggestive of

t h e presence of t h e ancestors durinq t h e f e s t i v a l . ~ l s o , the

masquerades have the power and a b i l i t y t o see and deal with evil

s p i r i t s t h a t may be on t h e way, For example, ~ k w e beats t h e ~ t t a - with h i s power charged cane t o symbolically imbue him with t h e

potency of t h e ancestors and serve as an addi t ional protec t ive

measure against malevolent s p i r i t s . 16

(c ) Oganyiganyi Fes t iva l - -- This i s another annual f e s t i v a l celebrated a t ~ n k p a i n honour

of t h e v ic tory of the f i r s t onu of ~ n k p a ' s v ic tory over the

react ionary forces i n the area i n the 17th Century, The f e s t i v a l

i s celebrated before the month of id-el-Maulud ( a moslem f e s t i v a l )

a f t e r consultat ion with t h e oracles by t h e p r i e s t ,

~ f t e r consultat ions of t h e oracles by t h e p r i e s t , t h e announcement

of t h e f e s t i v a l follows and l a t e r on, t h e menfolk drawn from t h e

Clans t o form t h e masquerade group assemble a t midnight f o r r i t u a l

cleanselling a t the o u t s k i r t s of the t o m . The cleahsening r i t u a l

6 Pers, Comrn: chief ~chema (Achadu of I g a l a ) , Idah, 1989.

include r i t u a l bath, decorating t h e body with coloured pigments,

white chalk produced l o c a l l y , before wearing the masquerade rega l i a ,

his exerc ise l a s t s till the e a r l y wrs of t h e morning. The

masquerade r e g a l i a include pieces of c l o t h s t r i p s of various

colours t i e d round t h e wais t beneath which a re r a f f i a wais t bands

t i e d on t o p of t h e s k i r t s , ~ l s o , charms Tn form of a r m bands

t i e d round the arms and buffa lo horns decorated i n various colours

a r e held by t h e masquerades, b e l l s made by loca l smiths a r e t i e d

round t h e wais t t o produce sound t h a t invoke t h e ances t ra l s p l r i t s #

a s t h e masquerade moves.

on s igh t ing t h e masquerades, t h e musicians, armed with gongs,

f l u t e s , horns and drums s e t on t o play t h e instruments amidst

songs and pra ises u n t i l t h e masquerades a r r i v e a t t h e town square,

The musicians a r e dressed i n r ed , b lue and white t h a t i s , t h e

males wear t rouse r s made of blue f a b r i c , white s h i r t s o r jumpers,

while t h e female s ingers w e e red s k i r t s on white blouses. The

singing and playing of t h e musical instruments continue while t h e

masquerades d isplay t h e swing dance f o r sometime while food is

served t o t h e e lde r s a t EGe Aneo This l a s t s f o r some hours

before they move t o t h e various sec t ions of t h e town t o perform,

F ina l ly , they re tu rn t o the town square t o perform again while

t h e women dressed i n long flowing gowns and caps t o match, move

i n ,..woces~ion trjwards the Onu's palace,

I n t h e evening, t h e oganyiganyi masquerades move towards

t h e palace t o perform t h e swing dance while t h e women dressed

i n gowns march round t h e Onuqs palace seven times r e c i t i n g

prayers, incantat ions and invoking the ances t ra l s p i r i t s f o r

b less ings t o the land and the people, After the prayers, t h e

masquerades and the women dance and s ing f o r hours inf ront of

t h e palace as a symbol of respect f o r t h e Onu.

F ina l ly , the Onu addresses the e n t i r e people i n t h e town and

g ive some words of advice t o a l l and sundry which marks t h e end

of t h e f e s t i v a l f o r t h a t year,

( d l Egbe ~ e s t i v a l P ----- The ~ g b e f e s t i v a l a t Egume i s regarded as sacred and was

t r e a t e d with a l i t t l e b i t of secrecy and i s s t i l l What it i s today

because it was believed t h a t the dead o r s p i r i t s of the dead w e r e

seen openly a t night , The reason being t h a t the ceremony is

celebrated i n memory of the dead Onu meaning t h a t it is a

b u r i a l f e s t i v a l ,

Egbe f e s t i v a l i s announced when the Onu of EgUm joins h i s

ancestors and another person is appointed t o take charge of t h e

a f f a i r s of the town, Five days t o the time of the f e s t i v a l t h e

corpse i s ca r r i ed from t h e palace and smoked ( t o cleanse the

17 s u b j e c t s ) before being placed i n the grave. on the f e s t i v e

day, a horse, depending on how r i c h t h e king was, is sac r i f i ced t o

t h e ancestors, Goats are t o be brought and offered as sac r i f i ce .

It should be noted t h a t the re are usually se lec ted people who dig the

grave, Amadiora Onu EgWe, and a l so make designs f o r the coff in ,

17, pers. comm: onu of Egume (Ankpa LGA) , Jan, 1990. --

On t h e day t h e Onu i s t o be bur ied , some f o u r very s t rong

and long l o c u s t bean t r e e s are usual ly placed on t h e f l o o r of t h e

grclve ( t h i s t i m e t h e r e a l grave i s used). hen t h e c o f f i n , oko, - is p l a c d nn them before t h e grave i s l e v e l l e d up. T ~ e n t y f o u r

o t h e r akpa l o c u s t bean roo f s a r e used f o r t h e roofing of t h e w-

Achekwu l i t t l e r o o f s above t h e tomb, Nine v i r g i n g i r l s are --- s e l e c t e d from t h e community t o c a r r y t h e nine long robes abahi --- t o t h e f e s t i v a l ground, Each abahb r ep resen t s t h e r i t u a l b u r i a l -- mate r i a l s f o r a l l c h i e f s including t h e dead chief Onu t h a t w@s - buried, he abahis c o n s i s t of a mixture of r e d Ugbabo and black -- robes , amulu, fo lded i n a dumb form and kept i n a calabash, -- ~ h e r e a r e n ine tombs, o j i n o j i , represent ing t h e p a s t nine r u l e r s

o r ch ie f s Onus, AS soon a s a ch ief d i e s , one of t h e graves P

o l d e r than t h e f i r s t i s l e v e l l e d up f o r t h e number not t o be

more than nine, 18

he animals k i l l e d f o r t h e r i t u a l b u r i a l a r e cooked toge the r

wi th some p a r t s of t h e meat and they a r e d i s t r i b u t e d among t h e

nine graves,

From t h e Egbe s h r i n e , n ine v i r g i n g i r l s s e l ec t ed from t h e

community who usual ly s tand i n a row while t h e Ora Ogelewu

p r i e s t lift t h e nine long robcs abaBis and place them on

t h e i r heads f o r t h e journey back home from t h e Egbe ground,

The chief p r i e s t s tands i n f r o n t of t h e a b a i and leads t h e way home, P

making sure t h a t a l l those who a t tend t h e f e s t i v a l have been informed

. not t o look back, The v i r g i n g i r l s carrying the abd l i s are usually -- t h e l a s t t o leave t h e ~ g b e ground and t h e journey back home usual ly

takes four t o f i v e hours because people a r e expected t o walk

slowly.

The Ora Ogdewu w i l l on reaching t h e palace of t h e incumbent onu, -my- -

come round again t o bring down t h e abahis from t h e heads of t h e

v i r g i n g i r l s and keep them a t t h e secret sh r ine i n t h e palace. #

~ l l t h e honour given t o t h e departed Onus are normally given t o 7

t h e abahis s ince they s t and f o r t h e dcparted chiefs , --=--

(el Okwula ~ e s t i v a l -- --,-*--

ThS-s f e s t i v a l i s a t i m e s e t t o ce lebra te the communion between

l ineage members, t h e i r consanguineal and a f f i n i a l k ins as w e l l

a s f r i ends and t h e dead members of t h e l ineage. ~t is a l so t h e t i m e

of ser ious business with members when t h e i r dead, known o r unknown

t o the l i v i n g , good o r bad, are reviewed by t h e t a lk ing masquerades

~ g w u Afia. 19

.- On t h i s day, offerings of cocks a re made c o l l e c t i v e l y

and individual ly followed by a communal meal i n which a l l t h e men

of the community, c d l e c t c d agnat ic r e l a t i v e s and f r i e n d s t ake pa r t ,

I n t h e evening of t h e Okwula f e s t i v a l , t h e Egwu Afia masquerade -- representing t h e dead ancestors a r e brought out from t h e grove and

i n procession t o t h e Atakpa of t h e founder of t h e community o r t h e

most seriLor of the l ineage Ogijo-olopu i n order of s e n i o r i t y with - the most senior of the masq~erades following behind. he masquerades

spend one o r more nights a t t h e htakpa of the founder of the

community and speak t o the members of the group through t h e Egwu - Afia masquerades of t h e founder o r h i s son before disappearing -- f o r another year, marking the end of t h e f e s t i v a l ,

( f ) Egonyi Fes t iva l - .-

This f e s t i v a l i s celebrated annually a f t e r the harvest , being *

one of t h e s i g n i f i c a n t f e s t i v a l s i n Igalaland and a major f e s t i v a l

i n the southern Iga la d i s t r i c t of I b a j i , The f e s t i v a l i s celebrated

t o appease t h e e L x t h goddess Ane f o r p l e n t i f u l harvest , good - yie lds e t c ,

On consult ing the oracles and performing t h e required r i t u a l

s a c r i f i c e s by t h e p r i e s t , o ther c lan e lde r s follow s u i t , s t a r t i n g

with the f i r s t yam tubers dug from the farm. ~ f t e r the r i t u a l

o f fe r ings , the e lde r s s e l e c t the age group t h a t w i l l perform the

masquerade r i t e s f o r t h a t year. On se lec t ion , the members leave

f o r the grove where they perform t h e masking r i t u a l s . hen the

br ief ing f o r the masquerade display follows before the p r i e s t

brings out the c lo the J material containing the masquerade from

the shr ine ,

The masquerade (which i s the clothed mater ia l ) i s ca r r i ed

i n a bamboo made s t r e t c h e r amidst songs, music and dance from the

grove t o t h e market square v i a Onufs palace. Gongs are beaten -

and b q b o o made f l u t e s a r e blown t o inform o t h e r c l a n members

of t h e a r r i v a l of t h e masquerade, ~ p p e a r i n g i n var ious a t t i r e s ,

t h e people move towards t h e market square f o r t h e f e s t i v a l d i sp lay ,

e The members of t h e masking t r a d i t i o n then cont inue playing

music, s i n g i ~ g and r e c i t i n g invokat ion , p ra i s ing t h e ances tors

before t h e s t r e t c h e r i s l a i d down on t h e ground, hen t h e c lo thed

ma te r i a l i s brought ou t of t h e s t i o t c h e r and kept on t h e ground

a f t e r which t h e two ends of t h e c l o t h s w e l l up and c l a p themselves

# i n mid air,

ina ally, t h e l e f t f l a n k of t h e c l o t h descends downwards and touches

t h e ground while t h e r i g h t f l a n k moves l i k e a snake upwards i n t h e

a i r t o he ight of about t h i r t y f e e t . he masquerade d i sp l ay

and f e s t i v i t i e s cont inue u n t i l sunse t when t h e masquerade

sh r inks back t o i t s former shape and p o s i t i o n t o be c a r r i e d and

kept o r l a i d down i n t h e s t r e t c h e r f o r t h e journey back t o t h e

s h r i n e where i t i s kept u n t i l t h e next f e s t i v a l ,

23 CWTER THREE

MASKS AND MASQUEIiADES

Masks are t h e most s ign iz ican t a r t forms i n a l l t h e I g a l a f e s t i v a l s

and t h e most public of t h e v i sua l arts not only i n I g a l a Kingdm, bu t . ,

a l s o i n a l l similar t r a d i t i o n a l f e s t i v a l s i n Black Africa, These masks

vary i n shapes and forms. They could b e carved i n a b s t r a c t o r r e a l i s t i c

shapes, c y l i n d r i c a l o r elongated. Some have horns er ob jec t s carved on

them i n fonn of t i e r e d objec ts , Examples of sqne types of masks used . Y

i n t h e fee D

P l a t e

; t i v a l s are shown i n p l a t e s 1 a1

' l a t e (

The masks take many forms o r geometric types, which are emically

label led , Generic type d i f ferences are displayed i n the formal a t t r i b u t e s rD

of t h e carved mask, t h e c u t of t h e costume, t h

embroidery and i n t h e a s sessor i e s at tached t o t h e masquerade, The masks , .

a r e carved wooden masks, commissioned when t h e costume i s f i r s t assembled

and are seldom replaced unless damaged, The c l o t h of t h e c o s t m e i s more

f l e x i b l e , It may b e changed, a l t e r e d , o r added t o each individual a e s t h e t i c

and iconographic expression i n costuming (See P l a t e d). The ~ M t h i s l i v i n g by enclosing it i n

a way of t f ing t h e s p i r i t of t h e masquerade, t o t h e c u l t u r a l world of t h e L

man-made cage of fabric. The costume i n i ts many forms conceals

t h e unknowable and ye t reveals men's infinite potent ia ls f o r

s p i r i t u a l transformation, fl h

p l a t e 2 : machin costume showing the added appliqued Stars. - The panels t h a t f lank the net t ing t i e d below t h e masks through

which the masquerader looks i s given specia l at tention. The broad

s t r i p s and t h e addit ional decorative panel behw the nekting are

elaborate ly appliqued or beaded w i t h cowries or c lo th pieces as

shown i n P la te 3 . Beaded embroidered panels are considered t o be

par t i cu la r ly e f f ec t i ve because they s ign i fy t h e r i t u a l importance of

t h e masquerader, some masquerades hold carved objects i n form of

s t a t ue s , s t i c k s or s t a f f s t h a t have some resemblance of human or

animal shapes. ~ l s o , t he masquerades wear cloaks (i,e. Ekwe) on which

are s t i t ched pieces of c l o th of various shapes, b e l l s and charms.

Some masks are made of embossed or engraved pieces of metal sheet

(i. e Ikeleku ~ h u m a ) , some with red seeds s tuck on them while others

have fea the rs stuck on t h e wooden helmet shape.

P l a t e 3: The Ikeleku ~ l u m a mask, Note the appliqued panels and t h e cowries,

The gold p la i t ed mask worn by t h e ~ t t a of Iga la which was given t o h i m

i n t h e 16th Century by the then Oba of Benin is another art work t h a t

contr ibutes t o t h e f e s t i v a l display . The brass s t a f f s

made by the smiths on which are carved various f o r m s , shapes both

r e a l i s t i c and abs t rac t are equally used during t h e f e s t i v a l s (i.eo Od:

and Egwu f e s t i v a l s ) , he gongs, arrows, spears , dane guns, knives

and matchets of various designs are a l s o usedo ~ h e s e works of a r t

d isplay t h e immaculate beauty and c r e a t i v i t y of the Iga la smiths

which could have been adopted e i t h e r from ~ f e o r eni in or perhaps

t h e i r Nupe neighbows.

Symbols of supernatural power such as stone c e l t s and medicine

containers may be carved onto or attached t o the mask t o

emphasize the power of the mask (See Pla te 4). I n others t he eyes

bulge outward, the cheeks may be puffed a t , and the h a i r is curved

i n one tier with l i t t l e indication of tex twe*

Pla te+: Orachin mask head dress. Note the medicine container on t h e forehead.

The Ejubeju a i l o mask resembling the festac ivory mask, has

a net-like covering on the head while t he ha i r was decorated with

short para l le l pieces of rods arfanged s ide by s ide i n rows up t o the

forehead, Large bulbous eyes supported by th in lashes and a broad

nose while the l i p s protrude t o give a kind of balance t o the base of

the nose i s one of i ts characterist ics, Below the chin are ser ies

of coil-l ike pattern tha t extend t o the end of t he jaw bone below

the ear lobes, The ears on e i ther s i de w e r e w e l l carved and shaped

t o give it a natural look, It i s the mask Worn by the Atta of I a la S .during the f e s t iva l s which appears t o have been designed t o be worn

on the face, f o r there a re slits below the eyes so tha t the wearer

could see out, I n f ac t , t h i s and the Obalufon mask a t I f e a re

possibly the only two i n existence, and both happen to be among

the f ines t examples of West African a r t , According t o the Igala

t radi t ion, t h i s mask was given t o the then Atta by the Oba of Benin

as decoration fo r ceremonial robes, There i s another mask bearing

the same name, but much smaller and of infer ior , possibly earlier,

workmanship, Measuring about f i v e inches from head t o chin, which

was declared t o be the second one, was seen. It was not i n the Benin

s t y l e but was a crude, probably f a i r l y recent, work of l i t t l e artistic

value. It may have been made a t Koton-Karfe i f the statement i s t rue i-

t h a t cer ta in of the brass objects a t Idah including Ekwe's stool came

from there.

p l a t e 5 : I'he Ejubeju Ailo Mask

Unlike t h e Ejubeju a i l o pectora l mask, t h e r e a r e o ther masks of

s igni f icance i n I g a l a f e s t i v a l s such as t h e O t e Egwu mask used during

t h e Egbe f e s t i v a l which comes from eas te rn p a r t of t h e I g a l a kingdom,

ou t s ide t h e c a p i t a l , The mask i s o v d o r avoid, boldly c h i s e l l e d

face, long and oblique inc i s ions across t h e check bone a r e some of

i t s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s (see p l a t e 8 ) . Black and white colours

w e r e applied on t h e f ace symbolising t h e dead and t h e l i v i n g which

are t h e motives behind t h e f e s t i v a l - a reunion with t h e dead

ances tors ( c h i e f s ) on year ly b a s i s t o ensure peace, t r a n q u i l i t y

and cohesion within t h e community,

P l a t e 6 : --.- Otcgwu Mask -I- __.

A p a r t from Ote-eywu m a s k , t h e Egwu Oramarnu mask i s

n e x t a n d i s a h e a r t s h a p e d f a c i a l mask ; o n e a c h s i d e of

t t ~ c n a s a l ~ i d g c two s m a l l a lmond s h a p e d e y e s a n d two

t a t t o o m a r k i n g s , a s t a r a n d a d i a g o n a l , a re v e r y t y p i c a l

of its style a s c o u l d be s e e n i n p l a t e 7. T h e mou th i s

p r a c t i c a l . l y r e c t a n g u l a r , h a r d l y p r o g n a t h o u s w i t h v i s i b l e

f r i . c j h t 2 r i i n g t e e t h , ~ h c : ? a i r d r e s s i s composed o f a t h r e e

f o l d i:!?ignon t h a t c a n a l s o be f o u n d i n many I d o m a

s c u l p t u r e s n o t a b l y i n t h e s a n c t u a r i e s ( t h i s i s n o t u n c o n n

w i t h t h ? i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e t w o d i a l e c t a l g r o u p s )

Egwu Oramarnu mask c a n b e j a n i f o r n ~ a n d i t s y m b o l i s e s

a u t h o r i t y like t h e r ( , y a l n a s k s a t I d a h , I t i s a l s o b e l i e

t h a t ib, a u t h o r i t y a n d p o w w comes f r o m t h e a n c e s t r a l s p i r

a n d d e v i a n t s are pun i shc?d b y t h e m a s q u e r a d e t h r o u g h c u r s €

i n f l i c t i n g i l l n e s s a n d s o on ,

Egwu Oramamu Mask --.

L i k e Egwu Orurnaniu, t h e Egwu ~ n y a k a t o r o m #

a s k h a s s i m i l a r

f u n c t i o n s l i k e t h e f o r m e r t h o u g h more f e a r f u l i n o u t l o o k ,

( S e e p l a t e ) I t p r e s e n t s t h e same f e a t u r e s ; c o n c a v e

f a c e , p r o m i n e n t n o s e p r o t r u d i n g r o u n d - s h a p e d e y e s , r e c t a n -

g u l a r p r o g n a t o u s m o u t h , o b l i q u e t a t t o o i n g s o n t h e c h e c k s ,

a n d a c e n t r a l crest s h a p e d c h i g n o n o n t h e h e a d .

Masquerades

I n almost a l l t h e I qa l a f e s t i v a l s , t he masquerade display

play a very s ign i f i can t role. Here the area of concentration i s

t h e mask and t h e c lo th t ha t covers t he masked being. The masks

a r e carved by se lected carvers who, l i k e t he palace carvers of

Benin and I f e , &e responsible t o the h t t a and Onus. The masks

o r head dresses used during the f e s t i v a l ceremonies d i f f e r i n

s i z e s and shapes i n t h a t t h e pe rsona l i t i e s expressed i n t h e f a c i a l

expressions depend upon t h e type of f e s t i v a l and what t h e b

f e s t i v a l s i gn i fy or symbolise. The masks a r e carved from

d i f f e r en t tree species such as mahogany, obeche, iroko, orachin

and ache trees, some of which have strong supers t i t ious be l i e f s

attached t o them, Some masks a re i n form of helments with double

face resembling the human face, o thers have b i rd o r animal shapes,

ances t ra l s p i r i t s 1 face, r e p t i l e s , Carved o r attached on them.

The Ekwe royal hasquerade which i s regarded as t h e king of t he

Iga la masquerades has no wooden mask head dress, The masquerade

i s draped from head t o foo t i n an ample c lo th out of which appear

t h e mouth and t h e c r e s t shaped nose, tubular eyes, and r a f f i a

f r inge of t h e coat: a t t h e bottom edge of t h e robe series of

c a s t bronze b e l l s of overal sect ion w e r e sewn; a l a rge lozenge

t r i ang l e s and hel icoidal l i n e s decorate t h e umbilical zone, Circles

were appliqued with the same he l i co ida l pa t t e rns with two opposing

l i z a r d s round the c i r c l e jus t under t h e mouth, decorated with

t r i a n g l e s a s could be seen i n P l a t e 1. I n addit ion holds

i n h i s hand a brass s t a f f with two janiform heads which resemble

a human face with broad nose, l a r g e bulbous eyes and l i p s

depic t ing a typical Yoruba s t y l e carving. a

P l a t e 10: Ekwe Royal Masquerade

kccompanying Ekwe and a s s i s t i n g i n forcing the way f o r t h e Atta

during t h e Egwu f e s t i v a l i s t h e kgbanabo masquerade whose head d ress

resembles a kind of baboon muzzle and has a long s t re tched surface

from t h e cen t re of which gross ly protrudes the nasal r idge as shown

i n P l a t e 12. Two small eye openingscve emphasized by white chalk

giving s t y l i s e d form t o t h e o r b i t a l c a u i t i e s , The h a i r dress i s

made up of ,a thick, sleek cap covered with r e s in and decorated with

l i t t l e red and black seeds. The face of the mask shows the beautiful

curvi l inear shape, t he crescent shaped eye openings and c i rcu la r ears.

The masquerade was believed t o have been abandoned by t he Jukun

during the Igal Jukun war a

pla te I{ ( a ) : ~ g b masquerade.

Apart from ~gbanabo, the Inelekpe masquerade which a l so performs

f o r three days during the Ocho f e s t i v a l is believed t o have been

abandoned by the Jukuns as w e l l during t h e Igala-Jukun war of t h e 17th

Century as could be seen i n Plate tC(b). The mask i s an oval mask,

chatacteriaed by a mouth open almost from ear t o ear i n a

voluminous protruding s p i r a l covered with abruss seed, with a

s t r a i g h t , s l igh t ly f l a t nose and almond shaped eye openings. The

forehead, the ears and the sku l l cap are covered with surfaces i n relief

decorated with ornamental red and black seeds, while the body is wrapped

i n s t r i p s of material which completely hide the officiant .

A

Pla te Il(b): Inelekpe masquerade P

Next t o the Inelekpe i s the Epe masquerade whose name was - derived from the name of a f e s t i v a l which takes place e igh t days before

t h e Ocho f e s t i v a l , r t i s t h e only masquerade t h a t w e a r s neatl1)

always, the fea the r of Uloko as shown i n Pla te Q. It i s a -- helmet mask, carved i n wood with b luish g l i t t e r . volumes are both

concave, almost cy l indr ica l disregarding a protruding wide c o l l a r

beard, Qval eye openings, a protruding l i n e reaching down from the

f o r e h e 4 unto the nose, with w e l l designed nos t r i l s . f he mouth i s

prognathus, the aur ic le very l a rge , covered with a white dye,

A f e a t h e r of uloko i s f ixed i n the r i g h t ear , he cap shaped h a i r P

s t y l e protrudes showing, on both s ides , cleared c i r c u l a r sut faces

and is completely covered with red abruss seed. --

Pla te 12 ~ p e Masquerade

O t h e r t h a n Epe , t h e I c h a w u l a m a s q u e r a d e a l s o p e r f o r m s - -_I-- on t h e t h i r d d a y o f t h e f i v e d a y s p r e c e e d i n g t h e O c h s festi

I t i s a h e l m e t mask, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by i t s h a i r d r e s s

composed of a c e n t r a l c h i g n o n marked w i t h p a r a l l e l g r o o v e s .

(see p l a t e 13). ~ b o v c t h e r o u n d e a r s , t h e r e a r e t w o

p r o t r u d i n g h a l f c i rc les s u r r o u n d i n g a c e n t r a l core c o v e r e d

w i t h r e d a b r u s s s e e d s , Dn e a c h s i d e o f a s m a l l o v a l mouth ,

t h e c h e c k s show a t y p i c a l ~ c h a w u l a s c a r i f i c a t i o n s . w h i t e -- - , -

d y e ( o r c h a l k ) c o v e r s t h e e y e b r o w s , n o s e , mouth and e a r s ,

b u t t h e inask i t s e l f i s a l i t t l e bit d a r k b e c a u s e of t h e

t y p e of wood i t was made u p o f wh ich i s t h e I r o k o tree, b

i'is l i f e f o r c e and power .

p l a t e 13: I c h a w u l a P a s u e r a d e ---iu -a-

=-.. - - 2 L l m-..-

I c h a w u l a i s f o l l o w e d by t h e Odumado m a s q u e r a d e , o n e

of t h e 111ain s u p p o r t i n g masks o f t h e I g a l a r o y a l t y ,

t r a d i t i o n and f e s t i v a l s , I t p e r f o r m s o n t h e f i f t h d a y

o f t h c Ocho c e r e m o n y and p r e c e e d s t h e A t t a back t o h i s

p a l a c e a f t e r t h e Ocho f e s t i v i t i e s , I t i s a w e l l known

c y c l i n d e r - s h a p e d h e l m e t mask c o v e r e d w i t h d a r k and lil a c k

d y e a s shown i n p l a t e 14. T h e w h i t e f a c e i s marked by

v e r t i c a l , p a r a l l e l g r o v e s . T h e c r e s c e n t - s h a p e d o p e n e y e s

a r e o n b o t h sides o f a s t r a i g h t n o s e , w i t h w e l l d e s i g n e d

w i n g s , T h e mouth i s e l .ongai .ed w i t h p r o t r u d i n g p r o g n a t h o u s

l i p s . T h e a u r i c l e s a r e r o u r , d , t h e w i d e p r o t r u d i n g l i n e s

d r a w n from t h e l i p s t o t h e t e m p l e s , t r a c e t h e f a c e l i m i t s ; *

t h e y a re t y p i c a l o f Odumado, a s i t i s t h e c a s e w i t h t h e

c a p - s h a p e d , t h i c k h a i r s t y l e w h i c h i s c o v e r e d by "epult r e d

s e e d s . A w h i t e d y e c o v e r s t h e o b l i q u e s c a r i f i c a t i o n s ,

t h e o r b i t a l c a v i t i e s and t h e n o s e , The body i t s e l f i s

c o v e r d w i t h s t r i p s o f m a t e r i a l . I t r e r n i n d s u s of t h e

I f e h e a d a l t h o u g h t h e l ine: ; dc; n o t r e a c h c'own t o t h e n o s e

a n d mouth a r e a s , a l t h o u g h C h i k e D i k e r & o g n i z e s i n them

? i u p e s c a r i f i c a t i o n s w h i c h i s u n c o n t r a d i c t o r y .

A p a r t f r o m Odumado, t h e O c h o c h o n o m a s q u e r a d e i s t h e

m o s t * . e c e n t o f t h e r o y a l m a s q u e r a d e s . T r a d i t i o n h a s i t

t h a t i t was a b a n d o n e d b y t h e J u k u n w a r r i o r s d u r i n g t h e i r

e n c o u n t e r w i t h t h e I g a l a s a t I n a c h a l o r i v e r n e a r I d a h i n

t h e 1 7 t h c e n t D r y w h i c h r e s u l t e d i n I g a l a v i c t o r y o v e r t h e

J u k u n s , The J u k u n s h o p e d t h a t i t w i l l h e l p them t o win

t h e w a r , T h e mask p r o t c c . t s t h e k i n g s h i p a n d h a s a p a r t i c u l ?

d a n c e s t e p uncommon t o o t h e r m a s q u e r a d e s . I t s f u n c t i o n i s

t o o p e n t h e way f o r t h e ~ t t a , t o f o r c e a p a s s a g e , t o p r o t e c l #

t h e Atta a g a i n s t p l o t s o f s a b o t a g e , a n d i n a w i d e r s e n s e ,

t o p r o t e c t t h e c a p i t a l c i t y o f I d a h a n d i t s p e o p l e

p a r t i c u l a r l y when t h e ~ t t a v i s i t s t h e s h r i n e w h e r e t h e

niaslc i s k e p t b e f o r e t h e O c h a f e s t i v a l ,

O c h o c h o n o i s f o l l o w e d by - I k e l e k u ~ h u m a , who l i k e

Ekwe, c l e a r l y d i f f e r s f r o m t h e o t h e r m a s k s o r m a s q u e r a d e s , e v e n ;.f i t a s s u m e s t h e same r i t u a l f u n c t i o n . s t r i c k l y

s p e a k i n g , i t i s n o t a m a s k , b u t a c rown made o f b r a s s p l a t e s

d e c o r s t e d w i t h i n t e r - l a c i n g g e o i n c t r i c a l d e s i g n s a n d c r o s s i n g

l i n e s as shown i n p l a t e 18. T h e m a s q u e r a d e wears a g a r m e n t

of a m a t e r i a l r i c h l y d e c o r a t e d w i t h f l o w e r s a n d a b s t r a c t

d e s i g n s w i t h sewed - on c o w r i e s , h o l d i n g i t a l i s t i c k t o - s c a t t e r t h e c rowd o n Ocho f e s t i v a l d a y . T h e f a c e i s c o v e r e d

w i t h b l a c k i n d i g o d y e d woven c l o t h , a b a . h i , w i t h cowries

s t i t c h e d on t o p r o t e c t t h e f a c e o f t h e w e a r e r a n d i m b u e

t h e m a s q u e r a d e w i t h some p o w e r s . he a p p l i q u e d s t r i p s o f

c l o t h d r a p p i n g t h e mask and masked body c o n s i s t o f

c o l o u r e d f a b r i c s c u t i n t o l o n g s t r i p s .

~ l a t e 15: --- I k e l e l t u - ~ h u m a M a s q u e r a d e - U n l i k e I k e l e k u ~ h u m a , t h e O b a j e Adeka m a s q u e r a d e , who

i s s a i d t o be t h e m y s t e r i o u s w a l k i n g s t i c k o f t h e l e g e n d r y

B n o j a O b o n i , c a n , a t w i l l , e l o n g a t e t o h i g h h e i g h t s and

s h r i n k o n t h e palm o f t h e hand i s s i g n i f i c a n t i n a l l t h e

I g a l ; ~ f e : : t i v a l s . I t i s a c y l i n d e r s h a p e d h e l m e t mask

c o v e r e d w i t h d a r k i n d i g o d y e (See p l a t e 16), The w h o l e

f a c e i s n x k e d by v e r t i c a l , p a r a l l e l g r o o v e s . T h e

c r e s c e n t s h a p e d e y e s are on b o t h s i d e s c o a t e d on t h e

e y e l i d s w i t h w h i t e c h a l k , w e l l i n c i s e d e y e b r o w s and

s t r a i g h t n o s e , l o n g a n d p o i n t e d . The mouth i s e l o n g a t e d

w i t h p r o g n a t h o u s l i p s , t h e l o w e r l i p c o a t e d w i t h w h i t e

c h a l k p a s t e . B e s i d e t h e l i p s a r e marked by h o r i z o n t a l

p a r a l l e l g r o o v e s e x t e n d i n g t o e i t h e r s i d e s o f t h e f o r e h e a d .

The cheek region were marked by inc l ined grooves p a r a l l e l i n

na ture , t h a t form a rcpe-like pa t t e rn towards t h e ea r region,

The e a r i s c i r c u l a r i n shape while t h e i n s i d e p a r t was

painted white with a cone shaped piece portruding a t t h e middle,

The forehead was painted white while t h e head and h a i r form a

cap l i k e shape, th ick and covered with abruss seeds, The masquerade

i s f a n t a s t i c and mysterious, with superhuman powers, such as h i s

a b i l i t y t o d e t e c t and exorc ise witches and o the r e v i l f o r c e s i n I g a l a

land, Its duty during t h e Ocho f e s t i v a l i s t o r i d t h e land of #

a l l witches and a l l malevolent s p i r i t s before t h e commencement of

t h e f e s t i v a l ,

P l a t e 16: Obaj e Adeka Masquerade

U n l i k e O b q r A&L. : ? b o t h i n terms o f s h a p e

a n d f u n c t i o n s , t h e Egwu ~ f i a m a s q u e r a d e s f r o m ~ d o r u ILL--+

d i s t r i c t were p r o m i n e n t d u r i n g t h e a n n u a l Okwula f e s t i v a l .

T h e ~ n a s k s were made o f t h e same m a t e r i a l - c l o t h a n d

r a f f i a a n d t h e n a s q u e r a d e s l o o k l i k e c y l i n d r i c a l c o n e s ,

b r o a d from t h e b a s e n z r r o w i n g i n w i d t h t o w a r d s t h e t o p

(see : ] la te I f ) . T h e h e a d c? r s i s t s of a c i r c u l a r c a p - l i k e

woven y s r n mixed w i t h r a f f i a , t h e c e n t r e o f w h i c h s t a n d s

a s t i c k l i k e p i e c e w i t h s e v e r a l p i e c e s o f k n o t t e d y p r n s

s h a k i n g f r o m i t s t o p , T h e p a t t e r n s o n t h e c o s t u m e a r e

t r i a n g u l a r i n s h a p e a r r a n g e d i n a b e a u t i f u l s y m m e t r i c p a t t c a p p l i q u e d

b e f o r e h e i n g / o n t o a b l a c k c l o t h w i t h w h i t e p o r t i o n - - --- - . -. -2%

a t t h e base, 5 I

P l a t e 1'7: -u-,

T h e Egwu ~ f i a M a s q u e r a d e s

A p a r t f r o m Egwu n f i a t h e Egwu G b o m Gbom f r o m I b a j i

r e g i o n i s a m a s q u e r a d e w i t h a d i f f e r e n c e . I t was made , I I'

o f p i e c e s of m a t e r i a l c o v e r i n g t h e f a c e a n d b o d y ,

c o n s i c i c r e d a m o n g s t t h e I g a l a a s b e i n g t h e o l d e s t . . -

T h i s m a s q u e r a d e c o n s i s : o f p i e c e s o f c l o t h m a t e r i a l

p a c k e d i n a b a g l i k e p n t t - r n d e s i g n e d f a b r i c a n d c a r r i e d

i n a bamboo s t r e k c h e r o f ::bout s i x f e e t by t h r e e f e e t

( ,tee f i g u r e 1) ), T h e m v s i c i a n s b e a t g o n q s , b l o w f l u t e s ,

b e a t clrums f o l l o w e d by i n v o k a t i o n s o f t h e a n c e s t r a l

s p i r i t s 2nd r e c i t a t i o n o f i n c a n t a t i o n s when t h e c l o t h

i s brou!;ht d o d n f r o m t h e s t r , , t c h 2 r a n d s p r e a d o n t h e

g r o u n d .

T h e Egwu -.-- Gbom-Gbom M a s q u e r a d e

U n l i k e t h e Egwu Gbom Gbom a n d o t h e r m a s k s i n I g a l a

l a n d , t h e O k w u t c ma-; --. 3 are a n t l i r o p o m o r p h i c f i g u r e s c a r v e d

o n t o p of s o m e o f t h e n i n e s t - .zffs k e p t a t t h e p a l a c e

w h e r e t h e ~ t t a r e s i d e s , T h e y b e a r t h e s t y l i s t i c

s e m b l a n c e t o B e n i n w o r k m a n s h i p a s t h i s a u t h o r o b s e r v e s

( S e e p l a t e bq ) b S i m i l a r l y , t h e s o c a l l e d " m e s s e n g e r s

from I d a h v v o r i n some w o r k s , f r o m I f e , a s c u l p t u r e o f

t w o men e a c h w i t h c l e a r l y m a r k e d I g a l a s t y l e o f f a c i a l .- . .-

d e c o r a t i o n may b e l o n g t o t h e same o r i g i n a s d o t h e

p e c t o r a l n~aslc E j u b e j u a i l 0 worn b y t h e A t t a , t h e n i n e . ~---

s t a f f s o k w u t e m e l a a n d , p e r h a p s , a s s u g g e s t e d b y F a g g ,

t h e I g a l a k i n g s h i p i t s e l f , T h e s e s t a f f r e p r e s e n t t h e

l a s t n i r l e ~ t t ~ l s who r ! l l e d I g a l a a n d e a c h s t a f f i s o f f e r e d

b l o o d b e f o r e b e i n g u n v f : i l e d d u r i n g t h e p r a y e r r i t u a l

for a n y f c s t i v a l b e f o r e t h e a r i - l : ? n c e m e n t o f t h e f e s t i v a l ,

T%e s t a f f were made cf brass a n d a r e s l e n d e r i n

s h a p e , T h e c l o t h u s e d i n v e i l i n g t h e s t a f f s i s r e d i m

c o l . o u r a n d a n o t h e r w h i t e s t r i p o f c l o t h i s t i e d o n t o p

o f t h e r e d t o make i t t i g h t e r a n d r i t u a l l y p o w e r f u l .

T h e n i n ~ ~ t e Mela" S t a f f s - ~ i k e t h e f o r ,nc?ugh w i t h s l i g h t v a r i a t i o n s , t h e

Okwute u l e j s o l i d b r a s s , d e c o r a t e d w i t h s i x -.-.a -2

t r a n s v e t - \ a l m g t h e l - n q t h o f t h e b o d y , i s a n o t h e r <

r i t p - \ . e p t i n t h e p a l a c e ( see p l a t e 2 8 ) , T h e t o p

o f t h e lower h a l f i s c a s t i n r o u g h and d i s t i n c t m o t i f s

t h e r e b y m a k i n g i t b u l k i x t h a n t h e o t h e r p a r t s o f t h e

o b j e c t , T h e t o p p a r t i s made o f t w o d i m e n s i o n a l s t y l i s e d

a n t h r o p o r n o r ~ ~ h i c m o t i f s w i t h a p r o m i n e n t n o s e a n d m o u t h

b u t w i t h t i n y v e y e s l l , T h e h u ~ a n l i k e f a c e i s d e c o r a t e d

a t t h e e d g e w i t h i n t r i c x t c l o o p s f i n e l y f o r g e d o n t o

t h e e d g e ,

T h r e e o t h e r t y p e s o f o b j e c t s f o r m p a r t o f t h e

o k w u t e u l e r e p e r t o i r e , S e v e n b r a s s b a l l s a r e a t t a c h e d ,

t o B b r a s s l o ~ p a t t h e b a c k o f t h e f a c e . T h e s e j i n g l e

w h e r e v e r t h e o k w u t e u l e i s moved. A b u n c h o f c h a r m s ,

Ogwu, b e l i e v e d t o b e i m b u e d w i t h t h e m e t a ~ h y s i c a l -d

p o t e n c y of t h e a n c e s t o r s is a l s o t i e d t o t h e back of the

f a c e a n d h a n g down a l o n q t h e u p p e r h a l f , l i k e t h e b r a s s

b e l l s . T h e t h i r d o b j e c t i c t h e o y o s m o o t h h e a v y s o l i d - b r a s s m e a s u r i n g a b o u t f i % e i n c h e s d i a m e t e r .

P l a t e 2a: T h e O k w ~ t e U l e R i t u a l S t a f f

A p J r t f r o m O k w u t e U l e , t h e O j o ~ t t a i s a n o t h e r

c o l l e c t ; i t 2 i ? of 3rt forrr ls c o n s i s t i n g of b i t s a n d p i e c e s

o f h a r d m a t e r i a l t h a t a r c t i e d i n a n okpt t c l o t h (locally

w o v m o n s t r a i g h t l o o m s a n d u s u a l l y u s e d a s b u r i a l s h r o u d s )

t o ; s h z p e t h a t l o o k s lilts a g o u r d ,

P l a t e 20: u__y__--

CHAPTER FOUR

QlWikCTEFUSTICS OF THE ART FORMS AS IT AFFECTS D R S S , HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS AND IMPLEMENTS

Dressinq

I n a l l t h e I g a l a f e s t i v a l s , dress ing plays a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e

because t h e publ ic form p a r t of t h e f e s t i v a l s , The type of d ress worn

during t h e f e s t i v a l s by t h e menfolk a t t r a c t a l o t of a t t e n t i o n first

from t h e f a b r i c i t s e l f , which are made l o c a l l y by t h e weavers and local

embroiders, who s a t and conceptualised t h e various design pa t t e rns sewn

on t h e f a b r i c such as gowns, jumpers, t rousers , h a t s or caps, Other

machine made f a b r i c s are purchased i n t h e market o r elsewhere and t h e

# t a i l o r s used t h e i r sewing machines t o produce patterned designs on t h e

dresses as could be seen i n f i g u r e 2, Buch designs a r e usual ly a b s t r a c t

i n shape while o the rs have shapes of animals, b i rds o r emblems designed

on them depending on t h e weaver. The ha t s or caps a r e p a r t of t h e dress,

and they add t o t h e beauty of t h e ceremony too. Designs of shapes,

pa t t e rns , objec ts , flowers, b i rds o r animals w e r e embroidered by hand

s t i t c h i n g method using d i f f e r e n t yarns of various colours. Those made

f o r t h e royal ty have cowries and fea the rs s t i t c h e d on them.

Pl& 2 x h typ ica l I g a l a woman's dress

~ l a t e 2 x c , ) The three major embroidery s t i t c h e s

Other than t he method of production of t e x t i l e w a r e s , it is

worthwhile t o discuss t h e embroidery on dresses made from the coloured

yarns produced loca l ly and t h e patterned designs which were made t o

look abs t rac t or r e a l i s t i c i n shape, ~t times coloured in ter laced

yarns are used f o r the royal dresses, horse saddle covers, neck

hangings, etc. ~ r a d i t i o n a l l y , Iga la embroidery which i s confined

exclusively t o the decoration of dress i s f o r the most par t a very

conventional form of a r t , employing long es tabl ished widely used

pat terns and a s m a l l number of basic s t i t c h e s (See p l a t e 25 @) 46,

Most common a re t he button hole s t i t c h , the chain s t i t c h and couching,

and t h e f a c t t h a t Igala stitches suggest a common ancestry with t h e

Yoruba. The way i n which iden t ica l s t i t che s are used by various Iga la

people differ t o some extent from one group t o another,

Most embroidery of t h e Yoruba and Nupe, f o r ins tance , is more dense

than t h a t of the Igala, A fea tu re of some of t h e bes t t r ad i t i ona l Iga la

work is an a t t r a c t i ve i r r e g u l a r i t y about the s t i t ch ing ,

~ l a t e a b ) An I g a l a embroider a t work

still on s t i t c h i n g and embroidery, specia l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a l s o

occur on pa r t i cu la r garments, On wide t rousers , f o r instance, t h e *

s t i t c h i n g i s usually looser than on caps and gowns. The appearance

of I g a l a s t i t c h i n g i s a l s o af fec ted by es tabl ished preferences f o r

p a r t i c u l a r types of thread, t rousers , being more of ten decarated with

wool or loosely spun, s i l k y thread, whereas caps and women's dress

are usually sewn with f i n e cotton. The work of individual embroiders

a l s o d i f f e r s s o t h a t s t i t c h e s widely spaced i n one man's work may be

very c lose i n another's, A comparatively new kind of embroidery,

employing designs t h a t are f i g u r a t i v e , and occassionally of considerable , b < , *

charm, i s being made by t h e Igalas on masquerade dress and a va r ie ty

of masking and r i t u a l c lo thes (see p la tes .3 and 1Q respectively) .

Apart from t e x t i l e s , one should take a look a t t h e mask

(See p la te \ -& on which most of t h e f e s t i v a l displays were centred.

Masks are t h e most s i g n i f i c a n t art forms i n a l l the Iga la f e s t i v a l s

and t h e most public of t h e v isual arts not only i n Iga la Kingdom, but

a l s o i n a l l similar t r a d i t i o n a l f e s t i v a l s i n Black Africa. A r t h is tor iqns

: Machine Patterned designs on f a b r i c

There a re wmen dress on two piece wrappers made of loca l ly woven +

f a b r i c s t r i p s t h a t resemble t h e Yoruba ASO-Oke of various designs and - patterns. on top of these wrappers are blouses o r long wide sleeved.

half jumpers t h a t reach the pelvis , with wide col lared necks t o match.

!"?e h.:aCgear and v e i l are a l so of the same material though made of

a l i g h t e r f a b r i c (see P la te 2 8 , Other women, l ad ies and g i r l s preferre

t h e machine made f ab r i c s which are l i g h t e r t o wear, more colourful

and gay especia l ly when t h e loca l t a i l o r s o r embroiders put a l i t t l e

touch of embroidery around t h e neck and sleeve6. AS part of t h e

d ress , bangles, ornaments, beads, r ings and anklets are added t o

t he visucl spectacle of the f e s t i va l ,

P la te 23 ~n Igala wmen wearing a v e i l -

Fig- 4: - I g a l a farming implements --- Apart from farming t o o l s , t h e f i sh ing t o o l s used t o ca tch t h e f i s h

t o be us 3. during t h e ceremony are equally s i g n i f i c ~ n ' ; , zron t h e 'iypes

seen i n ~ i g . Q, they were made of stro:?g, metal rods c u t end shaped

l i k e harpoon c r arrcw, o thers made up of th ree she.:? p-,<nted thcrn-!.i?c-

s h a ~ 2 ? b ~ z s welded together (each fec inq d i f f e r e n t direction) at tached

t o a long s t i c k were used i n k i l l i n ? bigger species of f i s h , crocodile ,

hippos and t h e l ike . Lesser t c o l s l i k e hooks, 3 . -h ing ne t s were used

on c? 1esse:r deqr3e tr, catch sm=tl?-e.~ 5 s h -50:: hc.ne consumption o r

Fig.

-

Apart from t h e farming and f i sh ing too l s , the re are pottery w a r e s

made by t h e Igalas which were used for cooking t he food t o be consumed

by the c lan fo lk and offered t o t h e ancest ra l spirits a t t he shrines.

They vary i n s ize , depending on t he use f o r example, t he water j a r s

were l a rge r , with wide mouths, c o i l pat tern shaped and engraved on the

oute r parts with f i s h bone or loca l comb incised i n t o wet c lay pot

before f i r i n g and glazing. Cooking pots are c i rcu la r i n shape though

with deeper and wider bellies designed t o accommodate the quanti ty of

food t o be cooked- Pots i n which medicine, atakpa, soup and similar

items were kept look smaller, with t r iangular l i k e patterns designed

on them using the quill or sharp pointed objects l i k e bone or

knife (see f ig . 6 ) .

hose pots used i n threshing locust bean t o prepare soup with,

look round i n shape with holes d r i l l e d i n form of bee-hive t o discharge

t he waste matter and r e t a i n t h e seeds. Other pots of significance

were t he dining pots - one f o r serving food b a l l s and the other f o r

s tor ing soup. They look smaller than other pots, but much more

decorated with relief pat terns and shapes of birds , animals, etc.

~ o s t af t h e

r i t u a l pots

4-

were mostly

Iga la pottery w a r e s were painted black except for t h e

which w e r e mostly i n t e r r a co t t a colour though others

painted black with the a id of pastes of barks a d leaves

6f plants believed t o have medicinal powers,

Fig, 6: Atakpa medioine pots

Having discussed Igala pottery wares, it is worthwhile t o touch

on the scar i f icat ions and other forms of body decoration which contributr

i n no small way i n enhancing the beauty of the Igala fes t ivals . The B

patterns made f i r s t by application of soluble black coloured pigments d

i n form of ink on the required par t of the body, could be abstract Or

r e a l i s t i c before making the incision with knife oy any sharp object*

such patterns are usually geometrical, triangQat: os a canbination

of both and a t times they were made i n form og animal. ail? repttXe

shapes based on the symbolic significance of such nymbold* I&: s h h

' Y L { i n f i g u r e 7 . Econcmic t r ee s l i k e palm tree, mango, date

, \ p i 4

o r farming implements l i k e matchet, hoe, rake, were thttooed on the

arms, below the e a , legs and foreheads, ~t tit'Ms shapes or

symbols of cu l t objects were tattooed on the up@& segments of the ' L

arm or the chest region.

Fig, 9 : ~ n i m a l shaped ta t toos incised on the arm

Apart from body decoration, the Igala display such qua l i t i e s

i n t e x t i l e s as shown by the loca l weavers who produce the dresses

# worn during the fes t iva l s . Made from loca l ly spinned yarn obtained

J

from local cotton, the fabr ics a re weft, using the local loom,

shu t t l e and other available materials, The fabr ics are i n form of

long s t r i p s t h a t resemble aso-oke fabr ics produced by the Yoruba

weavers, Depending oh the user, the f ab r i c is dyed t o the required

colour obtained from t r e e pigments or plants. he s t r i p s a re then

joined together using hand s t i t c h or machine s t i t c h t o a desired

s i z e depending on the type of dress required. ~t times, both

loca l ly woven f ab r i c s and machine made fabr ics a re joined together

i n form of applique t o make gtxlrns or trbusers, colour plays a

s ign i f ican t r i t u a l i s t i c r o l e i n Ig3la dressing such t h a t only h.

the royal family, the masquerades or p r ies t s use ? -0' -

dress during the fes t iva l s .

p l a t e 26: The - E jube ju-ai

I g a l a pottery t r a d i t i o n was bes t expressed during the f e s t i v a l s

through t h e use of immaculate design techniques i n terms of shaffes of ( J ,

t h e pots , t h e pat terns on them and the beauty of the ceramic w

These were bes t expressed on t h e dining pots , cooking pots and other

pots made f o r domestic use a s sha.dn i n P l a t e .', Calabash carving

techniques were a l s o displayed most especia l ly on those used during

t h e Egbe f e s t i v a l , Leather work and weaving techniques w e r e expressec

on t h e various drums made, charms, worn by individuals and the

masquerades during the ceremonies, etc, It is a l s o expressed on t h e

(i-e.

P la te

and amulu c l o t h used before - ~ g b e f e s t i v a l ),

27: An Ucha designed pot - - . . - - . - -.. -

The flukes and other musical instruments used during the

f e s t i v a l ceremonies were a l so works of art t h a t contribute i n

enhancing the f e s t i v a l display. Made of barnboa s t i cks , t he shape of

t he f l u t e s and t h e mouthpiece, the holes perforated t o produce

di f fe ren t musical tones show some level of creat ivi ty . The r a t t l e s

t i e d on the ankles of the masquerades contribute t o t h e visual

spectacle of the f e s t i v a l as well (See f ig . 8). Made of r a f f i a

f i b r e s , seeds of plants or calabash pieces, t h e colouring of t he ,

r a t t l e s and t h e shaping are signs of c rea t iv i ty of Igala artists.

Fig- a: Musical Instruments.

, $

CHfiPTER FIVE -- A - , -- ART FORMS AS SYMBOLIC FORCE

---A -

I n sill t h e I g a l a f . 3 s t i . v a l s 9 t h e a r t e l e m e n t s

d i s c u s s e d i n t h e p r e v i o u s c h a p t e r s h a v e some s y m b o l i c

f o rce o r s i g n i f i c a n c e i n the f e s t i y a l d i s p l a y s a n d r i t u a l s

p e r f ~ r x e d b e f o r e t h c cornmencement o f s u c h f e s t i v a l s , T h e

f i r s t b e i n g t h e f a r m i n g , h u r . + i n q a n d f i s h i n g t o o l s w i t h o u t

w h i c h f m d a n d s a c r i f i c i a l a n i m a l s c o u l d n o t be o b t a i n e d

t o be o f f e r e d a t t h e a n c e s t r a i s h r i n e s . T h e p o t s i n #

w h i c h t h e f o o d i s c o o k e d o r m e d i c i n e p r e p a r e d f o r

c o n s u m p t i o n o r o f f c r c d a s s a c r i f i c e h a v e sgme s y m b o l i c

s i g n i f i c a n c e i n t h e f e s t i v a l s , A c o l l e c t i o n of n i n e

s m a l l p o t s e a c h d e d i c a t e d t o t h e s ~ i r i t o f t h e l a s t

i n m e d i a t . . c A t ' i a s a s w e l l a s t h e s p i r i t of A y e g b a , e a c h

c o n C s i i i i n g -7 a i b o t h e pc t ; .n t m a t t c - r i n I g a l a m e d i c i n e a r e

b e ~ i m e d to h a v e potdsr of w a t c l ~ i n g o v e r t h e w e l f a r e o f

t h e l nd h a v c a s t r o n g s y m b o i i c f o r c e i n a l l I g a l a

f e s i - i v a l s , T h e o j o ~ t t a -a t o w h i c h t h e A t t a o f f e r s b l o o d

sacrifice and k o l a n u t s d u r j n g t h e Egwu f e s t i v a l s y m b o l i c a l I y

p r o t e c t s t h e ntt:a a n d h i s s u b j e c t s d u r i n g t h e f e s t i v a l s

i n the y e a r a g a i n s t a l l t y p e s o f c v i l s a n d m i s f o r t u n e s ,

R e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f c l o t h a n d c l o t h i n g

i s e q u a l l y s i q n i f i c a n t i n t h c f e s t i v a l s a s a s y m b o l i c

f o r c e as i t i s m i r r o r e d i n s u r v i v i n g r i t u a l p r a c t i c e s

a s s f - : c i a t c d w i t h t h e I g a l a i n d i g e n o u s r e l i g i o n , S a c r i f i c e s

of c l o t h a r e o f t e n 2 r e s c r i . b e d b y t h e I f a d i v i n e r s o r

p l a r . a t \ ? w i t c h e s a n d die ti::^, C l c t h a l s o p l a y s a n i m p o r t a n t

r o l - e i n r e l i g i o u s o b s z r v a n c c s s u r r o u c d i n g d e a t h , t h e

r e g a l i a of t h e c h i e f s , 9-nu-sa, m a s q u e r a d e s , egwu a n d

p r i e s t s , I n a t r a d i t i o n a l f u n e r a l , t h e c o r p s e w i t h

l a y e r s of vPOkpeu b y m a l e c l 3 n members. before b u r i a l .

T a b r i c p l a y s a r o l e a g a i n i n c e r e m o n i e s a f e w d a y s a f t e r

t h e b u r i a l when member o f t h e r l l a t e d m a s q u e r a d e g r o u p

a p p e a r s i m p e r s o n a t i n g t h c d c c e a s e d a n d w e a r i n g l t c l o t h s "

s i r i l i l a r t o t h o s e i n w h i c h t h e d e c e a s e d was known t o h a v e

b e e n b u r i e d .

T h s I g a l a m a s q u e r a d e s r c l : r e s e n t t h e c o r p o r a t e

s p i r i t , i ? ~ g w u u o f t h e I g s l a d ? a d a n d a p p e a r i n a n u m b e r

of r i t u a l a n d p u b l i c c o r , t c - x t s t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r .

T h e y a p p e a r i n d i v i d u a l l y a t times o f c l a n o r g e n e r a l

I g a l a r : + j , o i c i n g o r c r i s i s a n d a s a g r o u p a t a n n u a l

f e s t i v a l s h e l d i n h o n o u r of t h e c o m m u n i t y a n c e s t o r s .

O n l y when a l l p a r t s o f t h e e n s e n b l e a re b r o u g h t t o g e t h e k

a n d j o i n e d i n a r i t u a l a c t d o e s t h e s p i r i t of t h e

m a s q u e r a d e e n t e r t h e c o s t u m e ,

T h s c o s t u m e i t s e l f , when n o t b e i n g w o r n , a c t s a s t

a s h r i n e f o r t h e m a s q u e r a d e s p i r i t s , w h i c h may be c a l l e d

b y th,: o7mer.s t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r when t h e n e e d a r i s e s .

D r 2 s S e q u a l l y p o s s e s a s t r 3 n g s y m b o l i c f o r c c i n the

f e s t i v a l s as t h e c h a r m s a n d war d r e s s t h a t t h e A t t a v

, , p u t s o n t o indicate the m i l i t a r y d i m e n s i o n s of t h e o c h a

f e s t i v a l , T h e d r e s s e s worn by i n d i v i d u a l s s y m k l i ~ e t h e

s . i g . n i f i c a n c e of d r e s s i n c n i l a n c i n g t h e b e a u t y i n t h e

f e s t i v a l d i s p l a y .

T h e d r u m s , f l u t . . s a n d g o n g s b e a t e n d u r i n g t h e

f e s t i v a l s g i v e some t q n a l s a u n d b e l i e v e d t o h a v e h e n //

i m b u e d w i t h symbolic force b y t h e a n c e s t r a l s p i r i t s t m #

. . e s p e c i a l l y a t n i g h t p r i o r t o t h 5 f e s t i v a l c e r e m o n i e s r

~t t h e s a m e t i m e t h e e c h o e s s e r v e a s a l i n e o f communica- % -*

t i o n b e t w e e n t h e l i v i n g and t h e deaY m o s t 'especiallq

t h e water s j~ir - i t s a n d t h o s e l i v i n g i n t h e b u s h . ,Y

?.:as?:s, o n w h i c h t h e f e s t i v a l d i s p l a y w a s b a s e d , h a v e

s t r c n g s y m b l i c f o r c e i n t h e I g a l a c e r e m o n i e s . T.hey are *

p r g d u c e d i r i o r d e r t o -1iabl.e the! s o u l s 'mf t h e d e a d ,

g&~, o r t h e p r o t e c t i v e sb)ir i ts o f t h e s o c i e t y to

makc t h e i r a p p e a r a n c e i n t a n g i b l e ' m r v i s i b l e f o r m , d r

f o r t h e d r a m 2 ti; r e p r , - . s e n t ; i t i f j n o f m y s t i c a l a c t i o n s . / .

s y ~ n h o l s of s u p e r n a t u r a l pT)wer l i k e m e d i c i n e c r n t a i n e r s

were c a r v e d o n t o m- a t k a c h c d t - . t h e r?asl-.s t o e m p h a s i z e

t h e power of t h e mask d u r < . n g t h e f e s t i v a l s . T h e wood

o r tree t r u n k t h e mask was c a r v e d f r o m , h a s symbolic

f o r c e 3 t : : ached t o t h e f e s t i v a l a s w e l l ( i .e . O r a c h i n ,

a c h e , i r o k o ) because t h e power and l i f e of t h e mask

d e w n d s o n t h e tree s p e c i e .

T h e m a s q u e r a d e on w h i c h t h e mask i s worn, h a v e a

t r e m e n d o u s s y m h o l f c f o r c c i n a l l t h e f c s t i r a l s b e c a u s e

t h e y a r e imbued w i t h c c r t a l n p o w e r s t h a t c o n t r i b u t e t o

t h e m y s t i c a l c o n n o t a t i o n s of t h e masked b e i n y . ~ h c

Ekwe m a s q u e r a d e f o r e x a m p l e , s y m b o l i s e t h e r i t u a l a u t h o r i t y

of t h e A t t a a n d when t h e h i t s . h e h t t a w i t h t h e power #

c h a r g e d c a n e h e h o l d s o n h i s h a n d t h r e e times o n Ocho

, a

f e s t i v a l , t h e A t t a i s imbued w i t h t h e p o t e n c y o f t h e

anc,s.tc-)rs a n d g i v e s h im ( t h e A t t a ) t h e p r o t e c t i o n a g a i n s t

m a l e v o l e n t s p i r i t s ,

n g b a n a b o m a s q u e r a d e h e l p s i n f o r c i n g a way f o r t h e . L. --..--.-

~ t t a ' s h o r s e s t o o p e n a p a s s a g e t o t h e p a l a c e d u r i n y t h e

O c h o f z s t i v a l c e r e m o n i e s w h i l e Odumado ,$receerls t h e - - n t t a b a c k t o h i s p a l a c e a f t e r t h e Ocho f e s t i v i t i e s .

o c h x h o n o m a s q u e r a d e p r o t e c t s t h e k i n g s h i p a n d o p e n t h C . - * ..- '. - --. .. way for t h e ~ t t a , f o r c e a p a s s a g e a n d p r o t e c t t h e ~ t t a

a g a i n s t p l o t s , s a b o t a g e and i n a w i d e r s e n s e p r o t e c t s

t h e c i t y of I d a h ?.nd i t s r , c ( ? p l e p a r t i c u l a r l y when t h e

~ t t a v i s i t s t h e s h r i n e w h e r e h e i s k e p t b e f o r e t h e

~ c h o fzs t i v a l ,

QbAj$ adeki) m a s q u l r a d e i s v z r y s i g n f i c a n t in - I y a l a

f e s t i v a l s , b e i n y a mys t c r i o u s m a s q u e r a d e w i t h s u p e r human

p o w e r s s u c h a s h i s a b i . 1 . i . t ~ t l r ! d e t e c t a n d e x o r c i s e % i t c h e s

f e s t i v a l - , i s t o r i d t h e l a n d of wf t c h e s a n d a l l maLevolent

s p i r i t s b c f o r e t h e c o ~ a x n c e m e n t of t h e f e s t i v a l , T h e

E j u b e j u a i l 0 mask worn by t h e A t t a h a s a s i g n i f i c a h t . --.-. &.* A~ - s y m b o l i c E o r c e i n a l l t h e I g a l a f e s t i v a l s l i k e t h e ~ t t a

Urnself, b e c a u s e t h e A t t a c a n n o t a t t e n d any f e s t i v a l

f u n c t i o n w i t h o u t wearj.r,g t h e mask b c c a u s e i t i s b e l i e v e 4 *

t h a t i t i n s t i l l s f e a r m t o othr:r e y e s ( t h e , p e o p l e ) d u e '

- t o i t s m a g i c a l power,

The . Ote-e-u - mask s y r n b o l i s e s t h e d e a d a n c e s t o r s

and t h e r e f o r e a p p e a r s d u r i n g t h e a n n u a l Eggbe f es t iva l ' t o e n s u r e p e a c e , t r a n q u i l i t y and c o h e s i o n w i t h i n t h e

communi ty , The Egwu Oranlamu - -. -- -- m a s k s y r n b o l i s e t h e same

a u t h o r i t y l i k e t h e r ~ y a l mas]:~ a t I d a h . I t i s a l s o

b e l i e v e d t h a t i t s a u t h o r i t y a n d power comes f rom t h e

a n c e s t r a l s p i r i t s an,d d e v i a n t s a r e p u n i s h e d by t h e

masquersde t h r o u g h c u r s e , i n f : i ' c t f n g ' i l l n e s s and so on,

~ g w u A n y a k a t o r 0 h a s s i m i l a r f u n c t i f - . n s l i k e t h e L--- ..

fo rmi?r t h o u g h more f e a r f u l i n o u t l o o k . Egwu ~ f i a L

m a s q u e r a d e s f rom ~ 6 . o r u h z v e s t r o n g power s and s y m b 4 l i c

f ~ r c e i n Okwula f e s t i v a l c e r c ~ ~ n i e s . They are t a l k i n g V 7

m a s q u z r a d e s , b e l i e v e d t o be v e r y d a n g e r o u s a n d f e a r f u l

s u c h t h a t w h a t e v e r t h e y s a y w i l l h appen m u s t happen

i m m e d i a t e l y , They c u r s e w i t c h e s , i n f l i c k i l l n e s s on

d e v i a n t s , d e a t h to h ,a rdencd w i t c h e s and c r i m i n a l s and

e v e n comr.iunicat6 w i t h t h e deqd. T h e y are a c k n o w l e d y t d . . . - r

t c t be a b l e t o p r o v e i n t o t h e m y s t e r i e s of t h e p a s t ,

p r e s e n t and f u t u r e @ a r c i d ~ n t i f i c d w i t h p a r t i c u l a r d e a d

members of t h e l i n e a g e .

T h z n i n e r i t u a l s t a f f , Okwute m e l a , h a v e a v e r y L -*.. >

s t r o n g syl -vbol ic forcc i n t h e Egwu a n d o c h e f e s t i v a l

a c t i v i t i e s i n t h a t t h z f i r s t item o r a c t i v i t y i s t h e

o f f e r i n g of s a c r i f i c e s b y t h e . q t t a p e r s o n a l l y , t o t h e

memory o f h i s l a s t n i n e p r c d e c e s s o r s by i m m o l a t i n g n i n e

g o a t s , o n e e a c h , t o t h e s p i r i t o f t h e n i n e p a s t ~ t t a s ,

* e a c h r z p r e s e n t e d by a n Olcwute, I n a d d i t i o n , t h e ~ t t a . .- .*-, -- o f f e r s morsels o f pguncled yam (new y a m ) , d r ? p s o f l o c a l l y

brewed bekr ( o b u l u k u t u ) and k c l a n u t s , o j i I g a l a , to h

e a c h r a n c m b e r e d ~ t t a . T h e b l o o d of t h e s a c r i f i c e d

ani rna3s i s p o u r e d n e a t l y unt:. t h e u p p e r p a r t o f e a c h

o k w u t z and p r a y e r s a r e ~ f f ? r e d a c c o r d i n g l y i n v o k i n g . ...--L. --.. t h s name and s p i r i t of e a c h a n c e s t o r commencing w i t h

~ y a g b a Onla Idclko t 3 t h . ? l a s t n i n t h y r e d e c e s s o r .

O t h x t h a n skwutr2 m e l a ? , , a n o t h e r r i t u a l s t a f f of - . - a .- ,.>- -

s t r m g s y m b o l i c force i n I g a l a f e s f i v a l s fi t h e okwuEemD

ul1$, w h i c h c a n h e s a i d t c i be t h e key t o ' n a n c e s t o r s ,

BY h i t t i n g i t o n t o t h e s o l i d brass w i t h T t h e J a t t e n d a n t

n r - i s c of t h e j i n g l e s , t h e d c o r t r 4 r e a l m of t h e b

a n a r s t o r s i s s a i d t n be oa ,nod. +\ 144s a way of s i g n a l l i n g

t c t h e a n c e s t o r s t h a t t h e l i v i n g a w r e a d y t o of$!!=.

s a m - i f i c e s t c them, levhen t h e -- ~ k w u t e

t h e sc:l.id b r a s s , t h e nams ? f an a p p r o p r i a t e a n c e s t o r i s

c a l l c c l , T h e olcwute t h e r e f , r e , a c t s as a p r o m p t e r a s t o S L I P I I C I I I 4

wh,?sc name o r t u r n i t i s n a t , T h e r i t u a l i s t h e medium

t h r < : u g h w h i c h c s m t i n u e d relationship b e t w e e n t h e l i v i n g

A t t a w i t h a l l 1:;ala pzc::pl$, a n d t h . = i r a n c e s t o r s i s

m a i n t a i n e d d u r i n s t h e a n n u a l f , - ! s t i v a l s .

u n l i k e t h e Okwutc. u l ? s t a f f s , t h e r e a re s t a f f s t h a t ----- . . . m e n t i c n w h i c h arc* d i f £ \ ; r e n t i n o u t l o o k (see p l a t e 29)

c ~d s h a p e , T h e - A r u s t a f f s w i c h a r e empl,;yed a s r s w a l k i n g

s t i c k s " b y t h e ~ t t a as p a r t ~ f t h e O c h c r t l g a l i a e q u a l l y

h a v a a s y m b l i c f o r c e i n t h e f e s t i v a l , I t i s a g e n e r a l

I g a l a b:z!.ief t h a t t h e c c , i n p o s i t c a n i m a l a n d human s y m b o l s

c a r v e d on t h e s t a f f c o n s i s t o f m a g i c a l p o w e r s . ~ h e s e

p s w d r s w a r d o f f e v i :,? o n k h c p a t h o f t h e ~ t t a as h e t h r o w s

t h o h r u s t a f f f o r w a r d s a s h e w a l k s t o w a r d s t h e O c h o g r o u n d . . ... Anc Ocho , he s m a l l e r s t a f f p,ru k e k e l e h a s s i m i l a r p o w e r s .-- . .. ".a + . 7 . ... a .- . t h a t 9r t cc t s t h e ~ t t a f r f 1.1 - v i l s a s h e tl~r~mrs i t f o r w a r d s

w h i l d w 2 l l t i n g o n h i s way t a n y f e s t i v a l g r ~ u n d l i k e Egwu

f es LLiva.1, I n i k p i c e r e m ~ j n y a n d s? c:-.- ., -,-

* ' , , A t L1j

J "" - T h e ~ r u S t a f f ( ~ x p b s d W - . - -.

THE SITUATICN TODAY -- ..-.. & -. -. . *.d.. -.--.-.-

I g a l a a r t a n d f u s t i v z l s h a v e b e e n g r o s s l y a f f e c t e d

by t h s i n f l u c 5 n c e of t h e Eurr.p:dan e x p l , 3 r : ? r s a n d adrninfs-

t r a t o r s who came i n and remoul+d t h e i r ways of l i f e ,

c u l t u r e , t r a d i t i o n a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s e t up, T h r o u y h

t r a d e a n d e x c h a n g e o f g i f t s , p r e s e n t s an.d o t h e r g o o d s t h e

t r a d i t i o n a l w o r k s of a r t i n ta t h e i r museums and y a l l e r i e s

# a b r ~ a d . T h e d i s ? r i c t o f f icers e q u a l l y s p r e a d t h e i r

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e t e n t a c l e s i n t : . , t h & I g a l a ways of p r o d u e t i o n

o f v a r i o u s i t z m s f3r h3us ; : :h~ ld cc>nsumpt ion . F o r e x a m p l e ,

t h e y t r i e d t o Look i n t o t h e way t h e y make t h ~ i r too ls

f o r c a r v i n g , p o t t e r y , w e a v i n g , h u n t i n g , f i s h i n g and so on,

Th; a d m i n i s t r a t i v e se t u p o f t h e I g a l a was d i s r u p t e d

b y t h e c(- : lcinial a d r n i n i s t r a t i r m w h i c h i n t u r n a f f ccteJ 4

f i h z i r a r t ancl f e s t i v a l s , S u c h m e a s u r e s b r w g h t some

h a n d i c a p s t o t h e s p i r i t u z l pi-;wcr of the ~ t t a and h i s %

s u b j e c t s i n t h a t a number of a r t w o r k s were e i t h e r h i j d e s ,

4es t rc . )yed o r d i s c a r d r 3 d h e n c e t h e r i t ua l s a t t a c h e d t o Y

t h ~ m c ~ u l d n o t he pcrfqrmc-d. F o r e x a m p l e , t h e r e were

s t a t u ~ s c a r v e d o r m o u l d z d t h a t r e c e i v e o f f e r i n g s o f

human b l o a A t h a t had' tr, be d e s t r c y e d , d i s c a r d e d , broken

o r b u r i c d sway. S u c h w w k s c o u l d nGver be p r o d u c e d

a g a i n d u e t o t h e b a n i m p o s e d cm some t r a d i t i ~ n a l

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e f u n c t i m s p,rformed by t h e A t t a , ~ c h a d u and

o t h e r S ~ a d c d Onus i n I g a l a k ingdom, T h e 1 5 a l a b e l i e v e

t h a t t h e A t t a i s t h c i r f a t h z r whose d u t y is t o l o o k

a f t e r t h e i r w e l f a r e a s h > i s t h e m e d i a t o r b e t w e e n h i s

subjects a n d t h e a n c e s t o r s .

Scme 3f t h e r i t u a l s p9.-rfr3rmc d by t h e A t t a h a d to b15

s u s p c n d e d which involv22d t h e u s e cf s c ) m e w o r k s o f art

t h a t h a v e some s y m b o l i c f o r c c i n t h e I g a l a f : : s t i v a l s .

S u c h work i n c l u d e s t h e t c ~ ~ . l s u s c d i n p i e r c i n g t h e A t t a t s #

car, s h a v i n g h i s h e a d a n d m a k i n g s c a r i f i c a t i o n s on h i s

body. O t h e r s i n c l u d e t h e b i g p c c t o r a l mask made of

b r a s s worn by t h e p r ~ v i m s ~ t t a s , w h i c h t h e I y a l a b e l i e v e d

t o b e imbuc~d w i t h m a g i c a l p3wcr t h a t makes an i n d i v i d a l

s h z d t e a r s on l o o k i n g s t r a i g h t i n t i > t h e e y e s of t h e

~ t t a twice, Hence t h e name r r E j u b c j u - a i l o r * i s w h a t t h e R

I g a l a c a l l i t m.?aniny "the? c y c s t h a t i n s t i l l f e a r on to ik

o t h e r s " . w h i c h brc- d t h e p r o d u c t i m

t h e a r t w:,rks o r f o r m s t h a t c \ n t r j b u t ~ ? s t o t h e v i s u a l

s p c c t a c l c cf t h c f e s t i v a l s h a v e b z e n influenced by, t h e

E u r . j p z a n 2 d m i n i s t r a t i : m . ~ h c p a l a c e a r t i s t s w e r e n o

1 . ) n g ~ r l t s p t b u s y l i k e b. fc>rz t h u s , t h e a b i l i t y t o p r o d u c e

t i o n h a v e b e e n a f f e c t ~ d s u c h t h a t t h e prc7curdmcnt o f

pigm,n-ks from p l a n t s t~ p r u d u c e c ~ ~ l c u r s f o r u s e i n

b c i n g t h a t t h e Gloss ~ l r E m u l s i n p a i n t s p r o d u c e d i n

t h u f a c t f r ies w e r e p r - f c - r r c d a s t h e y w e r e b r i g h t e r and

l a s t 1 ; n g e r t h a n t h e c ? l ? u r p i g m m t s f r 3 m p l a n t s , The

l o c a l l y woven f a b r i c s wzrz a f f c c t c d t : )o b e c a u s e t h e y a r n s

prc.duc;.d a n d u s e d by t h e w e a v e r s l o c a l l y were d y e d u s i n g

t h ? l 9 c a l c o l ~ u r p igmcmts . The same f a b r i c s w e r e u s e #

i n making q c h s o r w r a p p e r s , t r o u s e r s , h a t s a n d e v e n

jumpkrs . Thc. o n l y e x c i ; p t i . m wi2r t i t h e b u r i a l c l o t h tvbkpet*,

amulu , a n d a b a h i b c c q u s e t h n r c are s t r o n g r i t u a l s a t t a c h e d ...--

t c ? t h t m i n X g a l a l a n d .

T h e cciming of C h r i s t i a n i t y a n d I s l a m tc, I g a l a l a n d

s h a t t d r c d t h e s t r e n g t h -1f k r a d i t i o n a l r t ? l i . q i o n w h i c h

rcs!.~l t . ~ d i n t h e m e a g r e d.-nand f~:!r e a r n i n g s , r i t u a l s t a f f s

and cjth,lr items r c . l a t .d tc a r t wc- rks kt?pt e i t h e r i n t h e

s h r i n . ~ s c.:r i n t h e p,-rsc::.n1 s. ~ u i t e a l a r g e num,bcr of t h e

I g a l a h a v e e m b r a c e d ~ i t h k r of t h e t w o r c 1 i g i : m s w h i c h

. s v ~ n 1c.d t o t h e d e s t r u c t i ( . . : . n o f ar d i s c a r d i n g a number

af t r ~ a s u r ~ d w o r k s o f ~ r t 1; :~p.k a t t h s i r ancestral s h r i n e s

a n d h<;m;:s, some of t h e r i t u a l s p ; : r formed i n f o r m of

~ a c r j - f i c ~ s and o f f - r i n g s h a v e g i v e n way b e c a u s c t h e y a r e

new r,.:.gardcd a s t ' u n , . ~ t h i c a l v o r te imrnoral r l ,

Hclwcver, t h o s e t h a t s t i l l ? x i s t h a v e b e a n r e f o r m e d

i n t h a t t h e o f f e r i n g of human b l o o d h a s b e e n s u b s t T t u t e d

t h ~ paws ~f S d e m . d i c i n c s m 2 c - l ~ i n fcrm of l o c a l l y made - t h r c . a d b u n e l k s of v a r i i d s h a p ~ s havc. bt.!en a n i s s u e o f

I ~ a l a l a n d b e i n g s u r r ; u n d c d b y t h e Nupe a n d I g b i s r a s

t t h e n o r t h , . t h e Y c ~ r u b a a n d E d 3 t c , t h e w e s t , t h c Idorna

e x t ~ r n a l i n f l u ~ n c c i n i t s p . r t , a n d t n s->me , ? x t m t i t s

f e s t i v a l s , Th:? t . c h n i q u ~ s .>f p r c d u c t i o n of t h e a r t f o r m s +

l i k % : m a s k s , m e t a l wrjr l ts , t h e r n 2 s q u ~ ~ r a d e r e g a l i a , o t h e r

r i t u a l a n d m u s i c a l i t - m s h a v d b e e n a d v L - r s e l y a f f e c t e d b y

t h e n L - . i j h b r u r i n g c u l t u r e s . w i t h t i r n 2 , t h e I g b o s i n f l u c n c e d

t h z prgc1uct ic .n of t h z a r t f ?rms a n d c a r v i n g t z c h n i q u e s

r s x a n r p l ~ s :f w h i c h a r d t h , >k 2 t i e r ~ d c a r v i n g s k e p t i n . -..-..

m a s t 1 b z j i h o u s ~ h n l d s a n d s h r i n e s , I g a l a p o t t c r y was , *

e q u a l l y a f f r c t c a By t h e E l o / B i n i i n f l u c n c c s u c h t h a t

t h e l;t.-(;u p o t s , yam p o t s , s m p p o t s , smal l p o t s ctc, t o

r , ! p r e s ~ n t a n a o , o f f - r , . d t . 2 t h e a n c d s t r a l s p i r i t s w e r e

p r ~ ~ d u c - c l u s i n g t h c sar:l 2 'c c h n i c p d s a s t h a t o f t h e B i n i i n

c h c l r a c t L > r a n d s h a p e , Sr)m.. a n c ~ s t r a l h e a d s t h a t e x i s t

t d a y , w!llch w : ; r e f r ec lu . -n ' c ly mi:c:c i n b r : n z e w e r e a l s o

mad2 i n p n t t e r y l i k e t h c B i n i t y p 6 s , a n d k e p t i n t h e a

a n c z s t r 3 1 s h r i n z s Unyi -zbo .

The! b rass work o f t h e I g a l a m o s t c o m m ~ n l y d e p i c t e d

i n t h L p r 2 d u c t i o n o f s t a t u L : t t c : s , l i k e t h c a n c i c n t w o r k s o f

E e b i n , w e r c made as d ~ ~ c " a t i 1n.s f o r cL : rc ;monia l r o b , ? s of

t h c c h i z f s and p a r t l y u s , d as m s s e q u e r a d e r e g a l i a . 75,

cxarnpli., t h e b r a s s b ,? l i . s \ '~!?g t h e r : . . b e s o f t h e Ekwe

m a s q u z r z d z w d r e madk c > r p r ~ d u c c d f r c - m t h e same t e c h n i q u e .

T h c E j u b z j u - a i l o p e c t t - ? r ~ l b~ 3ss mask hung on t h e n e c k of

t h d ,ritl-a a s a s i c ; n o f i n s u r a n c t ? 7f n f f i c c , t h e n-: thod of

p r < : d u c t i c n was c r u d ? , p r c b a b l !r f a i r l y r e c e n t work o f

l i t t l<- a r t i s t i c v a l u z , I t may h a v e b e e n made a t Kot0n

K a r f d i f t h e s t a t e m t n t i s k u z , t h a t c e r t a i n of t h e b r a s s

. - b j e c t s a t I d a h i n c l u d i n g E l c w d t , ; s t o , : l came f r o m t h e w , .-..-- -. T h e u s z o f p i e c e s o f b r a s s d,_c r q t c d w i t h d c . s i g n s t h a t

h a v e b e e n hamm!r.rcd on thcm l i k e t .hc F k e l u k u nhuma mask

h a v e b c e n i n f 1.ucnccd by tl12 Y o r u b a , B e n i n and Edo o r

B i d a a r t i s t s ; c nc= of t h e m s t t r ( 2 ~ l s u r e d r e l i c s a t : '-r--

i n C n d ~ S t a t ? i s t h e al1,:gcd cr:,wn o f Oduduwa, w h i c h

a p p c a r s f r < . m i t s damagcd r - l r l l a i n s ' < : h a v e b e e n i n t h i s fo rm. ,

Tha d e s i g n a n d dccora t i : : ,n c l l s . m e I g a l a c a r v e d

boxLFs f w n d i n Ankpa a n d ~ c - k i n a r:?:i:,ns o f t h s k inqdom

a n t h r s p q m ~ , r p h o u s s c u l p t u i -2s a l i "l ugh t h e y c ~ u l J h a .-?

b m n i n f l u t n c , ? d by t h c Y.:-uba, 8 i n i aK I g b o a r t i s t s ,

N u p ~ i n f l u c m c e a s a s s . r t u d b y sc , ,ne s c h o c l l s of thou,;ht .

Nrs. C r d n a n s s z z s sm, c i n n c . c t i r n h-atween I g a l a a n d Nupe

c a r v ~ d b#rjx,s , wooden m i n i a + u r , ? > t a b l : - - s t y p i c a l of t h e

f i r s t G c n d a r p d r i o d o f ~ t h i o p i n , B u t o t h e r s c h o o l s o f a

t h o u g h t rc-main h a 3 s i s t a n t .-:n t h e p o i n t , I t was o b s c r v e d

t h a t t h e c r e s t e d h a i r s t y 1 2 f : ~ u n d cn some o f t h o 1 g a l . a

c a r v c d f i g u r e s s u c h as t h e f l a t p l a i n s of t h e f a c e and i

. t h e o b l i q u e s c a r i f i c a t i o n s o n t h e c h e e k s was a l s o use4

atn(-mgst t h s R a s s a Komo who m i g r a t e d t o t h e n o r t h of the

I g a l a c u n t r y , Th2 t h c m c of a n t h p p o m o r p h o u s bqx-s r u n s #

t.1 t h t w d s t a m o n g s t t h e Nupe, afid i n t h e s o u t h amcngsk P

t h e Igbo. Othc--r t h a n t h c c a r v e d b o x e s a r e t h e O k q a c a r v e *

f i y u r c s , g e n e r a l l y ca rv .2d i n wood, m a i n l y f o u n d i n t h e

n s r t h - w c s t s r n p a r t of I g b o l a n C , spre:ad t o t h e south

of Igb.3 lend. T h e s c u l p t o r s f fr,:edr3m o f c - .xpress ion ,

n z ~ t a b l y i n t h e d i s p r ~ s i t i m of t h e h o r n s , t h e p a t t e r n of

t h e d ~ c o r a t i c n a n d t h z j a m i f c r m f a c c , s , a r e t y p i c a l a r t * f o r m s o f t h e 1 b a j i . The Ok-ga i s a t i e r e d h o r n e d fi);re

cc2mpos~d o f t h r e e s u p e r i m p c s c d l e v e l s , B e l o w , a man and

a w man s i t t i n g b a c k t,., b a c k o n t h e same c h i e f t a i n l s

s c a t ; t h c same s c < ? n e , b u t s i m p l i f i e d and r z d u c o d i n

s i ze , i s r e p r o d u c e d o n t h d i n t d r m s d i a r y l ~ l v e l ; o n the

tr;p cJf t h z s u p e r pc?szd r iw ~.) f c r q w n s w i t h , gcr:mt!tr ical

p a t t e r n s , a s m a l l f a c e s u r r o u n t c d b y a c o n i c a l c o i f f u r e

i s f r zmed i n b y t w o h u g e f r r w a r d l e a m i n g f o r m s , r i s i n q

v ~ r t i c s a l l y to the t o p s h s w i n g t h e i n f l u e n c e o f I y Q o

Thc, p r e s e n c e of c o i l ~ d snakc s o n t h e f c r e h e a d of

scm? Bassa - Nge masks a n d s c u l p t u r e s , a n d c c n c e n t r i c

s c u l p t u r ~ s d e p i c t i n g t h e I g b o i n f l u c n c c on I g a l a a r t

forms, of t h e m a l e f i g u r c s c a r v e d b y t h e Bassa

Ngs, h ~ v e s e v c r a l of i t s f : ; a t u r c s , l i k e t h z s h : ? u l j ~ r and

ch::st p - > s i t i o n s a s w e l l as thc: s h a p e of t h o eyes, r e s e m b l e

t h ? N f i r t h - r n Edo a r t ( ~ u k ~ r u b ) , a n d p c r h ~ p s t h a t cf the

~ t s a k c ; wh:: l i v e w c s t o f t h e N i g e r , n o t f a r f r o m I d a h t h e

I g a l a c a p i t a l e Somz s c h c : ; l s .;~f t h o u g h t a s s e r t e d t h a t

t h i s a n th r . : p c m o r p h - m s s c u l p t u r e c o u l d h a v ? bbc.m i n t r o d u c z d

t B n s s a - Nge r d g i g n , r ) r c * ; u l d h ~ v e b e c n ' c a r v e d i n t h e

area by 2 f o r e i g n a r t i s t .

I t h a s b e e n c?Ss : r v d t h a t th i . I g a l a body d c . c o r a t i o n

h n s bz.;n a f f ctc:d by L x t t ? r n a l i n f l u 2 n c e and s c c i a l c h ~ n j e , B

R : x - n t l y , t h e t a t t o q i n g of i n s x t s , r e p t i l e s a n d y c o m e t r i c

forms ,r p a t t e r n s h a v e bdcn i n t r o d u c e d by ~ h g ~ ~ b i r r a 4+\

I ~ b o , I d : ma and oth2.r n c i g h b o u r i n g tribes. S u c h p a t t e r n s

a r e mclre p c p u l a r amqng u n m a r r i d d g i r l s , y m t h , women and

some i n i t i a t e s of t h s m a s k i n g t r a d i t i o n . s c a r i f i c a t i o n V Y

and t a t t o o i n g a r e b t t l i c ~ v c d t ~ j . n h a n c e and e m b e l l i s h t h e

h d y . W significance i s t h e recognition t h a t a l t h o ~ j h C * - --++y- .. . -.- ,-

1. -S - Some A s p e c t s of wood S c u l p t u r e . Und Af%+t&a S p r a t c h . " ~ r c h c - : o l o g i s c h e ~ u n d e 11 l@%?, pp, 132 - 33,

t h e m x k s may c ;mbt : l l i sh , t h n t q u a l i t y a l s o d c p m d s on

t h e %, - . l dn t s of t h e ~ p ~ x i a 1 i s . i ; a n d c;n t h e face: ~f thi-.

i n d i v i d u a l , I t i s p f - ~ s s i b l ? t o a d m i r c b o t h t h e marks and

how t h e m a r k s c a n rnak;: a p c r s n n l o o k more beautiful. . . T ~ G p z t t . ; r n s a r e u s u a l l y made c n t h 2 arms, lc.:gs and

c h ~ s t th : :ugh i n som,? c3sc:?s t h c s t c m a c h , n a v ~ l , t h e c h i n

and t h c back ' arc: a r e a s t h n t s 0 m 2 I g a l a womzn fi- : l t s h o u l d

b~ decc)r , - , tc ;d ,

T h e m u s i c a l i n s t r u n : m t s u s e d havc-. h e m r c f o r m c d ,

i n t h a t t h c 2-- .qs h a v ~ b z ~ n r., n ..'.:llt.d s u c h t h a t s i n g l e

$ g: ,ngs h7.v- been r i :p l ; ?ccd by d , : :ub le g c n g s wh ich a r e l o n g e r . ,

rn;>rc d u r a b l e and pr2ducL: 5,-ttcr rnt-,lady t h z n t h e f o r m c r ,

The clrurns h;\vc: bdcn i n c r i 2 a s c d i n s i z e , w i t h s t r i p p . - d c l o t h

P ~ L C ~ J S t i c d h m r j i n g r:;und t h c h::!llow wocd : . incased by

gc , a t s k i n , ~t times cLpp12r w l & c , t h i c ~ y a r . 1 ~ o r r i b b o r > s

a,rd ?.lsc t i c d t ' - t h z c1.-:kh t z t i g h t e n i t s g r i p on t h c

wo::!dm c c g o of t h ~ ::Irums, The f l u t e s made of bclmboo

s t i c k s w d r t i i?qu, -? l ly r:;f zrmcd sc t h a t t h e y l o o k s h x t e r

and much m r e handy w i t h t h e ppc : f c l r a t i ons mad;. w i d e r

and f i : w e r i n num&r,

Thi:: c a r v i n g ar.d s r n i t h i n g t r a d i t i o n of t h e 1g;la

h a v e b i ~ n i n f l u d n c e d by s r c i n l c h m q c i n t h c s m s e t h a t

f ~ w 2 r a r t works p r o d u c ~ d w c r c of 1 ~ : s s z r q u a l i t y and b e a u t y

compnr .d w i t h t h o s c pr:,duc :d ca r l i c r . Tht-: r r t a son b e i n g

t h d lac :< c.f i n t e r , . s t by t h c y n u t h whose p a r e n t s and

ri;l a t i c n s bi. c,:ml:? t h e mnin producc: rs o f s u c h a r t w o r k s ,

zs w ~ l l .?s t h e r u r a l - u r b a n d r i f t w h i c h 1.d t o t h e

migr ,2 t i - ,n and < > b m d c > n i n g s u c h s k i l l c d t r a d e s i n most

c l a n s 2nd l i n j l a g e s i n I g a l a l a n d b e c a u s e cf t h e t h i r s t

f o r w h i t e c o l l a r j o b s and t h e a t t r a c t i q n o f c i t y l i f e .

Drcss, w h i c h i s a m , ? j r ' l r f a c t r r i n I g a l a f e s t i v a l s

a n d v i s u a l s p e c t a c l $ h 2 v e b w n a f f e c t e d by s o c i a l c h a n g e

i n t h a t modcrn ways o f d r c s s i n g a d c p t , ? d f r : . l m t h e f a b r i c s

proclucc?d i n t h e f a c t c ) r i c s s u p e r c c e d e d t h e t r a d i t i m a l

d r c s s i n g p a t t e r n s . N c w t L : c h n i q u e s cf e m b r o i d i n g and @

c l o t h d c s i g n h-we b e e n a n b r a c e d by b o t h t h e o l d a n d

y o u n g s u c h t h a t t h e b r i g h t c c ; l m r e d f a b r i c s and y a r n s

o v e r s h z d c w e d t h e i n d i g o and t r ~ d i t i o n a l c , , l o u r rind

p a t t e r n d e s i g n e d c a p s , g,-wns, j u m p e r s , t r ( 1 u s e r s a n d

w r a p p i r s s t i t c h e d by t h c I g a l a l a n d e m b r o i d e r s h e l p e d

i n malt ing t h e f e s t i v a l d i s p l a y much more i n t e r e s t i n g and

c o 1 i ; u r f u l . T h e wc;men9 s d r c s s c s were e q u a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t

and a f f c c t c d by s o c i ? l c h a n g c as w e l l s u c h t h a t t h e

h e a v y a s o - c k e l i k e f a b r i c w r a p p s r s and w i d e - s l e e v e d

b l o u s e s g a v e way tl.: t h e modern ~ n g l i s h wax, J a v a p r i n t e d

f a b r i c s prc,dUCed i n t h 2 t c x t i l c m i l l s .

CHAPTER SEVEN ---_I_.__

CONCLUSION -* -4-

I g a l a a r t and f e s t i v a l s h a v e b e e n o p e n t o a g r e a t

many i n f l u e n c e s . The a r t i s t s a r r i v e d a t a h i g h l y

i n t e r e : ; t i n g and p e r h a p s s i q n i f i c a n t c o n c e p t s t h a t r e l a t e

t o t h e t r a d i t i ' o n a l b e l i e f s o f t h e s o c i e t y . I g a 1 , - a r t

t h e r e f o r e r e v e a l s a series o f b a s i c f e a t u r e s o f t h e I g a l a

r e l i g i o n a n d s o c i e t y . Most of t h e a r t w o r k s c r e a t e t h e

i m p r e s s i o n t h a t t h e a r t i s t s ' c o n s c i o u s or u n c o n s c i o u s * i n t e l l t i o r , i s t o s i m p l i f y and e v e n t o d i s t o r t t h e p e r c e p t i v e

r e p r e s e n s o r i a l e l e m e n t o f t h e i r a r t , and t h u s t o r e n d e r i t

t r a n s p a r e n t and o p e n t o t r a n s - s e n s i o n a l m e a n i n g s a n d v a l u e s ,

T h e 1gaJ . a s e l d o m c a r v e i n o r d e r t o a r o u s e a e s t h e t i c

pleasure, or t o p r o d u c e a e s t h e t i c v a l u e s . The a r t i s t o

a g r e a t e r e x t e n t f u n c t i o n a l a n d less i n d i v i d u a l i z e d . The

a r t i s t s h a v e r-'-vc-ylittle f r e e d o m f o r c h o o s i n g a n d

t r e a t i n q t h e i r s , u b j e c t . They a r e less a b l e t o e x p r e s s i n

t h e i r w o r k s p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s a n d i n d i v i d u a l i z e d s t a t e s

o f mind,

T h i s shows t h a t t h e p r i m a r y c o n c e r n o f t h e I g a l a

a r t i s t s i s n o t w i t h t h e i n d i v i d u a l i t y o f t h e o b j e c t s and

s i t u a t i o n s t h a t f o r m t h e c o n t e n t of t h e i r a r t , b u t

r a t h e r w i t h s y m b o l i c s i g n i f i c a n c e o r , t o u s e a more

t e c h n i c a l 1 a n y a g e , w i t h t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n a

s u p e r . . i n d i v i d u a l a n d more o f t e n t r a n s - s e n s o r i a l s t r u c t u r e .

of m e a n i n g s , One c a n s a y t h a t a n y o n e c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e

c u l t u r a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of a r t h a s t o b e a r i n mind t h e

i n t i m a t e a n d c o m p l e x i n t e r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n c u l t u r e a n d

s o c i e t y , be t w e e n dorninan t b e l i e f s and c o n c e p t s on t h e

o n e h a n d , a n d d o m i n a n t s o c i a l e v e n t s a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s o n

t h e o t h e r . T h e I g a l a a r t i s t seems t o be p o s s e s s e d b y a

co r - f lpu l s ive n e e d t o s c h e m a t i z e a n d a b s t r a c t h i s p h y s i c a l

a n d a r t i s t i c a c t i v i t i e s , t h a t i s , b y p u t t i n g b e t w e e n

h i m s e l f a n d n a t u r e a web of s p i r i t u a l i m a g e s a n d a b s t r a c t

forms. H i s r e l i g i o n a n d a r t are t h e r e f o r e t w o b a s i c w a y s

i n w h i c h h e e s c a p e s f r o m t h e n a t u r a l and s e n s o r i a l i n t o

t h e s p i r i t u a l a n d a b s t r a c t .

From t h e v a r i o u s m o t i f s a n d s y m b o l s f o u n d i n t h e

a r t forms d i s p l a y e d d u r i n g t h e I g a l a f e s t i v a l s s u c h a s

t h e s c a r i f i c a t i o n s , too l s , m a s q u e r a d e h e a d d r e s s e s a n d

r e g a l i a , d r e s s wears, o t h e r r i t u a l ob jec t s and t h e l i k e ,

a l o t c o u l d b e a d o p t e d t o serve a s a m o d e l f o r t h e r a t i o n a l

a p p r a i s a l o f t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f c o n c e p t s for u s e i n v i s u a l

c o m m u n i c a t i o n d e s i g n , ~ l s o , i t s h o u l d e n g e n d e r t h e t r u e

u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d a p p r e c i a t i o n of d e s i g n as a b a s i c human

a c t i v i t y w h i c n o r i g i n a t e d f r o m o n e common roo t , t h e

d e s i g n e l e m e n t s t h a t were d e r i v e d f r o m n a t u r e . I t i s

a p p a r e n t t h a t t h r o u g h d e s i g n , p e o p l e m u s t ref lec t t h e i r

e n v i r o n m e n t , t h e i r l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s , a s w e l l a s a c h i e v e

t h e i r i d e n t i t y , gala s y m b o l i s m i s t h e d i s t i n g u i s h i n g

mark o f I g a l a a r t , i t i s ci r e f l e c t i o n o f t h e p e o p l e f s

s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l l i f e ,

w h a t h a s b e e n d o n e lin t h i s t h e s i s i s t o p l a c e i n

b r o a d p e r s p e c t i v e t h e d i f f e r e n t a s p e c t s o f I g a l a a r t a n d

s y m b o l i c m o t i f s i n t h e i r f e s t i v a l s a n d how i t r e l a t e s t o

t h e i r w a y s of l i f e b e i t s o c i a l . , e c o n o m i c , p o l i t i c a l a n d

s o on , I t h a s b e e n n o t e d tt.;lt. d e s i g n and d e c o r a t i o n i s

c o n s i d e r e d an a r t w h i c h h a s i t s o r i g i n i n t h e remote

p a s t , ~ l t h o u g h c a r v i n g , ~ \ ~ ~ ? a v i n g , p o t t e r y and b o d y +

d e c o r a t i o n h a s r e m a i n e d t h e f a v o u r i t e medium of a r t

e x p r e s s i o n i n I g a l a l a n d , t h e i r d o m i n a n c e i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a

t h e m e s was d u e t o t h e a s s o c i a t e d r e l i g i o u s i m p o r t a n c e

a t t a c h z d t o them among t h e i n h a b i t a n t s .

T h e v a r i e t y of l a y o u t s t h a t c o u l d b e d e r i v e d f r o m

t h e a d a p t a t i o n o f t h e I g a l a d e s i g n m o t i f s c a n be s e e n i n

t h e v a r i o u s c a t e g o r y o f p o s t e r s , l a b e l s , l o g s , h e a d e d

l e t t e r s , p a c k a g e d e s i g n s , c a r d s and s t a m p s , F o r c o r p o r a t e

i d e n t i t y d e s i g n s , t h e s e p a t t e r n e l e m e n t s c o u l d f u r t h e r

b e a d a p t e d f o r c r e a t i v e d e s i g n s s u i t a b l e f o r s t i c k e r s

a n d a u t o g r a p h i c s .

O t h e r d e s i g n p a t t e r n s c ~ u l d be e m p l o y e d by t h e p u b l i c

E n l i g h t m e n t u n i t o r s e c t o r o f t h e G o v e r n m e n t f o r p r o p a g a n d a

b y m e a n s of a p p r o p r i a t e m o t i f a n d p h r a s e o l o g y . Some

p o s t e r s f o r t h e o u t i n g a n d a r e n a d i s p l a y o f Egwu ~ f i a or

~ k w e c h a r a c t e r s d u r i n g t h e f e s t i v a l s , o r s i m p l y a n e n d - o f -

y e a r f u n d r a i s i n g l a u n c h i n g of t h e I g a l a c o m m u n i t y .

P ~ t t e r n s f o u n d o n t h e ~ o t t e r y w a r e s , c a l a b a s h

c a r v i n g s , etc. c o u l d b e u s e d a s a f a v o u r a b l e c o m p o s i t i o n

o r a p o s t a g e s t a m p , I n t h e i n d u s t r i a l ssctors w h e r e t h e

p o l i c y may c o n c e r n new or n o d i f i e d p r o d u c t s , r a t i o n a l i s a -

t i o n o r d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n , c h a l l r j c s i n d i s t r i b u t i o n m e t h o d s ,

o r e v e n e n t r y i n t o n2w m a r k e t s , t h e e f f e c t i v e u s e of

m o t i f s w o u l d a t t r a c t t h e i - ~ r ~ c d c d a t t e n t i o n f o r t h e d ~ s i r e d

c o m n ~ u n i c a t i o n , I n t h e realm of v i s u a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n , t h e

i n d i s p e n s a b i l i t y o f s i g n i f i c a n t f o r m s c a n n o t be o v e r -

e m p h a s i z e d . T h e p r o c e s s o f s e i v i n g t h e a r t i m p l i c i t i n

t h e I g a l a f e s t i v a l s i n v o l v ~ s t h e p a i n s t a k i n g p r o b e i n t o

t h s soci o - p o l i t i c a l s e t t i n g a s w e l l a s t h e s o c i o - c u l t u r a l

phenomenon w h o s e r i t u a l i s t i c e s s e n c e a n i m a t e s some of t h e

f e s t i v a l ,

T h e r e c u r r e n t c o n s t a n t s i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l f e s t i v a l s

a r e t h c i r r i t u a l s , m e r r y - m a k i n g a n d s e n s e of r e - u n i o n amonc

the I g a l a . T h i s i s r e l e v a n t s i n c e t h e f e s t i v a l i t s e l f i s

b u i l t a r o u n d t h e t h ~ m z of k i n g s h i p a n d communal s o l i d a r i t y .

Furthermore, t h e f e s t i v a l s e r v e s t o u n d e r l i e t h e s t r o n g

l i n k s u n i t d n g t h e l i v i n g , t h e d e a d a n d t h o s e who a r e y e t

t o be b o r n , s i n c e v i s u a l c o m n ~ u n i c a t i o n d e s i g n c o n v e y s

i n f o r m a t i o n more v i v i d l y t h a n w o r d s , t h e i r r e s i s t i b l e a n d

a t t e n t i o n a r r e s t i n g powclr ( C L ~ t h e I g a l a m o t i f s h a v e b e e n

p u t t:,~ u s e t o s h o w t h a t c o u l d be p o s s i b l e w i t h i n t h e

u n f v z r s e of g r a p h i c d e s i g n , T h e m o t i f s a l s o c o u l d be *

f o u n d t o be u s e f u l i n t h e r e l e v a n t v i s u a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n

d e s i g r ~ i n most o r g a n i s a t i o n s ,

T h e p r o c e s s of a d v e r t i s i n g I g a l a a r t a n d f e s t i v a l s

o u t s i d e t h e f r o n t i e r of I g a l a l a n d w o u l d g r e a t l y h e l p

t c e x t e n d i t s a e s t h e t i c s 2 n s i b i l i t y a n d r e l a t i v e m e a n i n g s

t o n o n - i n d i g e n e s . I n t h i s way , I g a l a mo t i f s when a g p l i e d

o n t o d e s i g n s become r n 3 a n i n y f u l w h i l e a t t h e s ame t i m e

d e f i n i n g t h e i r i n d i g c n e o u s c h a r a c t e r . One way of d o i n g

t h i s i s b y u s i n g v a r i o u s t e c h n i q u e s o f c r e a t i v e p h o t o -

g r s p h y t o p r o d u c e p o s t c a r d s , p h o t o a l b u m s , b r o c h u r e s ,

c a l e n d a r s , a n d o t h e r p u b l i c r e l a t i o n m a t e r i a l s , a l l of

w h i c h c o u l d be d i s t r i b u t e d w i t h i n a n d o u t s i d e t h e c o u n t r y .

'The t e c h n i q u e o f p a n n i n g , m o t i o n , f r o s t i n g , c r o p p i n g ,

p a n o r a m a , s o l a r i z a t i o u ! a n d t c ? x t u r i z a t i o n , among o t h e r s ,

c o u l d be e x p l o r e d f o r t h i s p u r p o s e . P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s

D e p a r l : , :wnts or u n i t s of t h e ini is try of I n f o r m a t i o n a n d

C u l t u r e c o u l d e x p l o i t t h i s s e e m i n g l y v i a b l e v e n t u r e w h i c h ,

b e s i d e s t h e e c o n o m i c f a c t ( > r , a l s o h a s i t s c u l t u r a l

s i g n i f i c a n c e ,

On t h e o t h e r h a n d , i n d u s t r i a l / a d v e r t i s i n g a g e n c y

v i s u a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n d e s i g n e r s s h o u l d f i n d s u i t a b l e

m o t i f s f r o m t h e " d a t a b a n k w and a p p l y them i n a d v e r t i s i n g

d e s i g n s fqr o u r i n c r e a s i n g l o c a l l y m a n u f a c t u r e d g o o d s .

~ e s i g n e r s i n r e s e a r c h c e n t r e s c o u l d f i n d I q a ! a m o t i f s

i d e a l a s f a v ~ u r a b l e t h e m e s f o r p r i n t m a k i n q wi .,, p a r t i c u l a r

r e f e r e n c e t o w o o d c u t , e t c h i n q , m o s a i c and c o l l a g e .

~ d e p e g b a , C o - A s u r v e y of N i g e r i a n Body M a r k i n g s a n d t h e i r R e l a t i o n s h i p t o o t h e r N i g e r i a n A r t s . Ph. D. T h e s i s -- I n d i a n a U n i v e r s i t y , 1976 ,

A , E o i i f i y b o - " T r a d e and T r a d e R o u t e s i n t h e ~ i n e t e e n t h C e n t u r y , Nsukka" , J o u r n a l o f t h e H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y o f N i g e r i a , V o l . 7 ,

. N O . 1, 197-3:--'

~ l l i s o n , P o A. - N o t e s o n t h e I g a l a . U n p u b l i s h e d M a n u s c r i n t . 1944.

Ar .?1s t rong9 R o G o - P e o p l e s o f t h e N i g e r Benue Conf l u e n c e , ~ t h n o g r a p h i c S u r v e y o f A f r i c a , West ~ f r i c a P a r t X ~ n t e r n a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e , London , lmTFO 7 7 - 90 ,

Borr i s d e R a c h e w i l t z - I n t r o d u c t i o n t o A m e r i c a n A r t , J o h n M u r r a y , - - ond don, 1 9 6 6 , pp. 55 - 79.

B o s t o n , J. S. - I f a ~ i v i n a t i o n i n I g a l a , N O o 4 , P O 355.

B o s t o n , J o S. - ~ e d i c i n e and F e t i s h e s i n I g a l a , A f r i c a ~ o l , XLI P , 200 - 207. -- .. 9

B o s t o n , J. S o - I k e n g a F i g u r e s a m o n g s t t h e n o r t h west I g b o a n d t h e I g a l a . F e d e r a l D e p a r t m e n t --- of A n k i q u i t i e s L a g o s , 1 9 8 0 , p. 120.

C h i k e , D i k e P o - s y m b o l i s m and P o l i t i c a l A u t h o r i t y i n I f a l a k lngdom

P h o C h e s i s , u n i v e r s i t y o f i g e r i a Nsukka 1 9 7 7 . ~ . 4 r

. -. --=-iiiiVPC-.

C l i f f o r d ~ i l e ~ - N o t e s on B a s s a Kano T r i b e i n t h e I g a l a

D i v i s i o n . ?(LIV9 N O . 9 5 , 1 9 3 6 , p, 1 0 6

11- Cremans , -Sohe a s p e c t s o f wood sculpture, Und ~fr.. A-rcheo! .ogische f ~ n d 1922. p 1 3 2

-__-.*-. .a".-.--

12. E l s y L e u z i n g e r - T h e p , r t o f B l a c k A f r i c a - t u d i o v i s t a _ ,

London 1 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1 ~

Ecclcs, P o l l y - "NUpe B r o n z e s v v , N i g e r i a M a g a z i n e N o o 73 , 1 9 6 2 , pp. 1 3 - 25.

E g h a r e v b a , J. U . - A s h o r t h i s t o r y o f B e n i n I b a d a n U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , I b a d a n , 1 9 6 8 , - --- -*..-.. .

rim, E. 0. - L e o p a r d , C i v e t , B i r d s a n d H i s t o r y : t h e Idoma Caseo B e n u e R i v e r V a l l e y P r o j e c t P a p e r s , 1 9 7 6 , p. TEi - 34.

I s i c h e i , e t a 1 - P a p e r s p r e s e n t e d a t t h e C o n f e r e n c e o n M a s q u e r a d e s i n ~ i q e r i a ~ i s t o r v a n d ~ u l t u r e , P o r t ~ a r c o u ; t , ~e~ tembe ; , 1 9 8 0 b e i n g r e v y e w e d f o r p u b l i c a t i o n .

F r a n c o i s N y e t - A r t s o f t h e Renue , London l a @

F a g g , W o and P i c k t o n , S , - P o t t e r s A r t i n A f r i c a . B r i t i s h Museum, London , 1 9 7 8 , p. 2

L a w a l , B a b a t u n d e - T h e p r e s e n t s t a t e o f A r t historic^ R e s e a r c h i n N i g e r i a , vvProblems and P o s ~ i b i l i t i e s ~ ~ , M , S . , U n i v e r s i t y o f I f e J n s t i t u t e o f ~ f r i c a n S t u d i e s , 1 9 7 3 ( r e f e r r e d t o by F r a z e r , 1 9 7 5 ) ,

L o u i s e , E . J e f f e r s o n - T h e D e c o r a t i v e A r t s of ~ f r i c a . Few Y,qrk, 1 9

~ h i l p o t , J. H , - T h e S a c r e d tree i n R e l i q i o n a n d Mytho London, 1 8 9 7 : 1 7 - 1 9 . -

G b T h e A r t s of t h e J u k u n S p e a k i n g p e o p l e s o f ~ o r t h e r n N i g e r i a , Pho D. T h e s i s I n d i a n a U n i v e , r s * i t y , 19-30.

S h s l t o n , A. - The I g b o I g a l a B o r d e r l a n d : R e l i g i o n and S o c i a l C o n t r o l i n I n d i g e n o u s A f r i c a n Colonialism, Albany 1 9 7 1 X I X : 24 ,

S i e b e r , R o - S c u l p t u r e of N o r t h e r n N i g e r i a , T h e Museum of D r i m i t i v e A r t , N e w ~ o r k , T 6 1 : 3 2 - 3 3 .

S i e b e r , R o a n d T. V e v e r s - I n t e r a c t i o n : The A r t S t y l e s of t h e Benue R i v e r V a l l e y a n d astern N i g e r i a , T h e D e p a r t m e n t o f C r e a t i v e ..,,,., ~ r t s v P u r .. 2.- u e , 19'14 9 '19,

25. S r h i t h , Pi. - The A r t i s k i n T r i b a l S o c i e t y , L o n d o n 1 9 6 1 : 24.

26 . Thompson, R e F , - T h e S i g n o f D i v i n e K i n g , A f r i c a n iirt, 1 9 7 0 : 8 - 11, _---

27 . I Jndcrwood, L o - Masks o f West ~ f r i c a , L o n d o n , 1948. 3 7 - 40,

28. V o g e l , 5 . - F o r s p i r i t s and K i n g s : n f r i c a n A r t f r o m t h e T i s h m a n C o l i e c t i o n . T h e ~ e t r o p o l i t a n Mus>eum o f - .- ,rir.> New ~ o r k , 1 9 8 1 : 2 3 - I .

29 . wille& F r a n k . - i i f r i ca ' , A r t , L o n d o n , 1 9 7 % : 66-76. I

30. W o r r i n g e r , w 0 - ~ b s t r a c t i o n and Empa thy , K,egan P a u l Lor* 1 9 5 3 : 3 8 -

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS *-..IIJ.II.---rCr-

N a t i o n a l C e n s u s ~ i g u r e s 1 9 6 3 : 6 - F e d e r a l G p v e r n m e n t G a z e t t e , 1 9 6 3 , -

B m U e S t a t e O f f i c i a l D i a r y , 1 9 8 0 : 2 5 - O f f i c i a l Benue S t a t e G o v e r n m e n t D i a r y , 1980 .

S u r v e y Map of I g a l a Land 1 9 8 3 - F e d e r a l S u r v e y s D e p a r t m e n t ? L $ g o s 1983.