ClassificationsAfrican Art

Okega

Place CreatedNigeria, Africa

CultureIgala

Date20th Century

MediumWood, pigment

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Dimensions58 1/4 x 10 x 8 in. (148 x 25.4 x 20.3 cm)

Object number2005.069.002

Label TextIkenga shrine figures are dedicated to spirits who ensure moral determination and physical strength, virtues required for Igbo men to excel in life. Ideally every Igbo man should acquire his own personal ikenga by the time he marries. The owner attends to the Ikenga spirit's needs as an aid to his own life-long quest for achievement and title-taking. The ikenga sculpture represents a male figure seated on a stool, a symbol of power. In the right hand he holds a sword as a sign of courage and decisiveness (the Igbo believe that a man's right hand symbolizes his ability to be effective). In the left hand is the ivory trumpet owned by men who have taken the ozo title, one of the highest ranks in Igbo society. The elaborate headdress is crowned with the curved horns of the ram, an animal that battles infrequently, but can be aggressive when necessary-representing qualities which the Igbo identify with leadership.

While personal ikenga are "fed" daily with offerings within the private realm of the home, okega shrine figures of the neighboring Igala peoples are owned by families rather than individuals, and are kept in a semi-public ancestor shrine. This large, tiered okega features images of men and women and the crocodile, a symbol of strength and aggression in this riverine region. Red feathers and strips of white cloth were once bound to the okega, now the only trace of past ritual action is the sculpture's thick patina of sacrificial material.

Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Installation, November 19, 2007 - December 1, 2014

ProvenanceAcquired through exchange by MCCM from Charles Jones African Art, Wilmington, North Carolina.

Status

Not on view

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