NIGERIAN ARTS, culture

Nigerian Art

Nigeria has been in the forefront of art in Africa.
She is to Africa what Greece was to the development of art in the Mediterranean world, This is because the oldest artworks in Africa, apart from the
Egyptians, are found in Nigeria. The works are also the most important and the most outstanding in Africa.
Areas where such works are found in Nigeria are in→
Nok
Ife
Benin
Igbo-Ukwu
Tsoede
Esie
Ibibio
Owerri

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TSOEDE ART

Tsoede Some outstanding bronzes now known as Tsoede bronzes were found among the Nupe of Nigeria. The bronzes found in the vllages of Tada, Jebba and Giragi were said to have been brought down there by one Tsoede, the brother of the Atta of ldah who travelled along the River Niger to found the Nupe kingdom sometime in the 16th century. The bronzes are large figures of men and animals. Some of them are the largest cast bronzes and copper found in Sub-Sahara Africa from antiquity. The figures are naturalistic and wear a graceful pose like those of Ife. Some of the figures are ritually bathed by villagers to ensure fertility and good fortune. see also→ Benin Art Igbo-Ukwu Art Esie Art Ibibio Art Ife Art Owerri Art Nok Art

IGBO-UKWU ART

lgbo-Ukwu The people of Igbo-Ukwu in Anambra State of Nigeria have an important bronze-working tradition which prospered about the middle of the 9th century AD. The tradition was brought to light by Professor Thurstan Shaw who did excavations in the area. Most of the works found show evidence of skilful metalwork brilliantly cast and forged in bronze using insects and reptiles as decorative motifs. Male and female figures are sometimes combined with in- sects and reptiles as decorative motifs. Some are also decorated with coloured glass beads and stones. The works suggest ritual objects. This is because in a king's grave, small bronze pendant ornaments in the form of an elephant, leopard and ram heads, most of which were richly encrusted with delicate geometrical decorations, were found. These heads were symmetrically arranged and had flies, beeties and grasshoppers sitting upon them. Pendants in the form of a bird lying on a pair of eggs from which hang strings of bead

ESIE ART

Esie Esie is a small Yoruba town near llorin in Kwara State. Many soapstone figures where found in the bush near this town. The figures, numbering more than eight hundred, are the largest collection of stone curving in Africa. The figures are full of dignity and are near realism. Some stand on short legs while others sit on mushroom-shaped stools and hold objects in their hands. The figures either wear hats or specially designed head-dresses. They also wear beads around the neck, and sometimes round the wrist. The faces have striations like those of Ife . Some of the female figures kneel in front of water pots. The origin of the figures is not known. They are, however, used as objects of worship. seen also → Benin Art Igbo-Ukwu Art Ibibio Art Ife Art Owerri Art Nok Art Tsoede

BURKINA FASO ART

Burkina Faso: Mossi and Bobo The major artworks of the Bukina Faso masks are mostly from the people of Mossi and Bobo. The Mossi are a very powerful people who raided and defeated the communities of the plains around them. Such people included the Dogon , Timbuktu, Bagana and Qualata . The Mossi people believe that the horse is endowed with exceptional powers and, therefore, military leaders are regarded as horses. The Mossi masks which are blade-shaped and on which a female figure stands in the background are worn by the military leaders or masters whom they call in their language ' Naba' during the Wango rites. The Mossi and Bobo masks are blade shaped and are carved out of wood. However, the Bobo are painted. The face of the masks is in relief and the back is attached to a high board that is sometimes indented with geometric and coloured motifs as the people's device.

LIBERIA AND COTE D'IVOIRE ART

Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire : Dan Ngere The major artwork of Liberia and Cote d'lvoire was the Dan Ngere mask carved out of wood. The mask which has almost the same appearance and form is used for different purposes. One of such purposes is as a channel of communication with their high god, Zan . The spirits of their ancestors are also invoked through the masks. Another function of the mask is its use, especially the one known as Dea , during circumcision. A tall conical headdress indicating beauty is worn with the Dea mask. Two types of the Dea masks have been identified. One is used for teaching initiates into the Poro Society and frightening away women and children from the initiation camp. The other one is worn while collecting food from the mothers of the youths. Some of the masks regarded as the low ones are merely used for entertaining those who have remained behind in the village while initiaton lasted. The carving of the masks is idealized to look like

BENIN REPUBLIC ART

The Republic of Benin: Fon The major works of the Republic of Benin, are the sculptural works of the Fon people. Some of the works were done on wood but a majority of the durable ones are bronze or brass castings of animals and of people at work or any other activities like processions, hunting and hoeing. In the Republic of Benin, Brass was regarded as an object of prestige. The brasssmiths, therefore, do the works for the wealthy who can afford to buy them and use them to decorate their homes as symbols of wealth.

GUINEA ART

Guinea: Kissi and Baga The Kissi of Guinea like the Mende of Sierra Leone carve figures from soapstone. They call these figures Pomdo . The figures are carved with strong vertical axes ánd they wear a smile similar to the archaic smile of Greek art. The Kissi also keep the figures in their rice field to protect the crop and make it prosper. Kissi's initiates wear fibre costumes and paint their faces instead of using masks. Baga The outstanding sculpture of the Baga of Guinea is the mask known as Nimba . The people of northern Baga have a society known as the Simo society which performs ritual ceremonies after the rice harvest. The Nimba mask is worn over the head and rests on the shoulder of the dancer during the ceremony which is per- formed after the rice harvest. Another work of the Baga that is worth noting is the Simo society's drum, which consists of a kneeling figure with other figures round it. It is used during funeral ceremonies of members of

MALI ART

Mali : Dogon and Bambara The Dogon and Bambara people of Mali are well-known traditional sculptors. Their works are in wood and are mainly ancestral figures and masks. The Dogon wood carvings can be classified into three distinctive styles . The first is the simplified forms of the masks. The second is the cube-like ancestral figures which in recent times are used as decorative motifs on doors and the third, the round freestanding ancestral figures. Sometimes, however, the cubic and the round free-standing ancestral figures appear in one piece especially the round free-standing figures sitting on a carved stool with legs in the cubistic style. Some of the ançestral figures known as Nommo , a spirit associated with their creation, are sometimes represented with arms lifted up. These figures are used for prayers for the restoration of rain. Others, mostly from the Tellem area of Dogon , are used to call upon the force or god of fertility and birth and for the purification

SIERRA LEON ART

Sierra Leone: Mende Among the Mende , in Sierra Leone, two types of sculpture prevail. These are figures in soapstone called Nomoli and wooden masks used by the female initiation ceremonv of the Sande society . The mask is called Bundu by the Sande society . The Sande society prepares and initiates young Mende girls into responsible adult life. During the ceremony of initiation, the young woman wears the mask and looks out through slits made beside the jaw at the level of the mouth. The Nomoli figures which are carved out of soapstone, also known as soft stone, are used to encourage fertility. The figures are kept in rice fields to protect the crop and enable it to yield well. The Mende believe that the figures are expected to steal rice plants from the nearby fields. If this is not done successfully, the figures would be beaten. The figures have big, powerful heads and the limbs are projected forward to represent a man leaning against a back-rest.

COTE D'IVOIRE ART

Cote d'lvoire : Senufo and Baule The Senufo of Cote d'lvoire are the southern neighbours of Dogon of Mali who are known to produce remarkable ancestral figures and masks. The Senufo produce masks and figures somewhat similar to those of Dogon. The Senufo figures are used for two distinctive purposes. While some are used for divination, others are used by their Lo or Men Society's Rhythm-Pounders which is solely an up and down movement. The young men of the Lo Society carry the figures and hold them from behind by the upper arms in their Rhythm Pounders dance in which they all thump their figures on the ground at regular intervals and in unison. These are more or less ancestral figures. The divination figures especially those of the Bandeguele represent horsemen. The Senufo mask called Kponiugo is very important to them. It is a mythical being believed to protect the community from sorcerers and soul stealers. Apart from that, it is intended to re-enac

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