Shrine figure "alusi" ·  Nigeria, Igbo · ID: 3033149

Description

wood, polychrome paint, encrusted patina, wearing a necklace and string of glass beads around the hips, scarification marks on body and face, crowned by disc-shaped headgear, min. dam., minor missing parts, cracks, slight traces of abrasion, on metal base;
Igbo figures serve a range of purposes. In the southern area, statues are carved to house the spirits of venerated ancestors, and appear in shrines in family compounds. Ancestors serve as media through which the living can make contact with the highest level of the spirit world, and Igbo shrines thus serve as contact points. In the north there are many cults whose deities are associated with certain days of the week and, more specifically, with local markets held on those days.