Anthropomorphic dance crest of the "ogrinye" society ·  Nigéria, Idoma · ID: 3036136

Description

wood, brown patina, kaolin, coiffure of plaited plant fibre strings, the neck partly wrapped with leather, conical-shaped base with remains of a knotted plantfibre costume, scarification marks, slightly dam., crack, abrasion of paint, some strands of the coiffure missing, base;
presumably a work of Ojiji Igumale who lived in Otobi village. He was not only a sculptor but also a well-known diviner, a dancer, a raconteur, and an “anjenu” priest. His head crests for the “ogrinye” society were more abstract than others. On the neck of his heads, Ojiji incised geometric designs that do not appear on those made by other carvers. The “ogrinye”-society was looked upon as the most powerful society, which only men could join who had killed an elephant, a lion or a man. “Ogrinye” had decisive regulatory function within the community.

Expertise

Karl-Ferdinand Schädler, 22.04.2003, Munich, Germany

Littérature comparée

Kasfir, Sidney L., Remembering Ojiji: Portrait of an Idoma Artist, in: African Arts 22 (Aug. 1989), p. 44-51 Berns, Marla C. et. al., Arts of the Benue River Valley, Los Angeles 2011, p. 91, A.8