Kneeling pair of figures "onile" ·  Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3035257

Description

brass with patina, nearly identical, the male figure with pipe, min. dam., small missing parts, slight traces of corrosion;
regardless of their seize, the “onile” which were especially consecrated, were more powerful than the “edan” couples. They were hidden inside of “ogboni” houses (“iledi”). They symbolize the founders of the community. According to Witte they were used for delivering decisive messages in case of conflicts between “ogboni” members. The figure was wrapped in a cloth and sent to a person who had something to answer for. A white parrot feather indicated that the matter could be settled amicably, but a red feather was an outright threat of condemnation.

Comparing literature

Dobbelmann, Th.A.H.M., Der Ogboni-Geheimbund, Berg en Dal 1976, ill. 97 Witte, Hans, Earth and the Ancestors, Ogboni Iconography, Amsterdam 1988, p. 70, ill. 12