Standing male shrine figure · Nigeria, Niger Delta, Ijaw · ID: 3048206
Description
wood, fabric, missing parts, base
The Ijaw were the first to arrive in the delta of the Niger at around 800 AD. They believe in a single female god, “wonyinghi”, in ancestral spirits, but especially in spirits of nature “oru” who live in the wilderness surrounding villages and towns.
Hence, most of their rituals invoke bush and water spirits, most shrines are dedicated to them and almost all sculptures and masks serve to represent them.
Many bush spirits were depicted as warriors, based on the human model, but with aggressive bared teeth in open mouths. For the Ijaw describe these spirits as ugly, gigantic creatures with volatile tempers - in short, extremely frightening.
The object Standing male shrine figure with the object ID 3048206 was last part of the auction 97th Auction at November 6, 2021 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 238 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,500.
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Comparing literature
Cole, Herbert M., Invention and Tradition, Munich, London, New York 2012, p. 71 Anderson, Martha G., Ways of the Rivers, Los Angeles 2002, p. 142