Standing male figure "ihambe"

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Description

wood, base

“Ihambe” figures are set up individually or as a group in front of the family compound. The figures are closely associated with the senior wife/mother of the house. When the latter dies, the responsiblity for the figure/s devolves to the daughter-in-law.

Regarding their function there are different approaches. Some see them as incarnations of ancestors. Fagg calls them a kind of “tutelary village guardians” serving to protect the land and its fertility. Sieber recognizes that there is a symbolic relationship to manhood and virility. A mixture of all these functions seems to be correct.

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Comparing literature

Neyt, Francois, The Arts of the Benue, Michigan 1985, p. 162, ill. IV.1 ff.

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Publications

Coppens, Martien, Negro sculpture, Amsterdam 1975, ill. 160

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