Overmodeled ancestor skull
Description
human skull, white, red and dark brown paint, cowrie snails, real hair, painted with symmetrical arranged curvilinear ornaments, the eyes marked by cowrie snails, accentuated cheek bones, nose with slightly curved bridge and inflated nostrils, coiffure of spirally coiled strings of real hair, which are fixed and partly spread with clay-like mass, a band of cowrie snails separating the coiffure from the facial plane, some cowrie snails and some strands of hair missing, rest., inscription in red paint at the back of the head: “XI A36/4”, label with further numbers: “B3 A AS2 726694”;
the modelling paste, which is called “yiba” consists of red clay, lime and tigasso oil. The overmodelling was performed in the men’s house by a man who was not in a special kin relationship to the deceased, his modeling skills alone were important. The paste was applied directly to the forehead and the top, with the back of the skull left bare. The cranial openings were blocked with pieces of light and soft wood. The shape of the nose was formed from a strip of rattan. Then the paste was evenly distributed over the face and the features of the deceased reproduced as true to life as possible. Overnight the work in progress was left in the men’s house on a rack as the spirit of the deceased was thought to come and check it. The overmodelled skull was then left to dry for two days before being painted. After that the mortuary ceremonies could begin. They consist of three parts: “kytakamat”, “minsago” and the quiet singing “yiken kudi”. All parts were staged in the former dwelling house of the deceased.