Standing male figure "ihambe" · Nigéria, Tiv · ID: 3035285
Description
bright wood, remains of greyish brown patina, rising from a post, the body describing a wide bow when looking at it in profile (repeating the natural form of the branch), the male genitals especially accentuated, the eyes inset with metal sleeves, dam., missing parts through insect caused damage (the post eroded from the inside, the surface structure of legs and arms dam.), strong traces of weathering, lichen, fissures, plate;
large wooden sculptures of the Tiv were called “ihambe”. They differentiate in two styles: the “post style” and the “realistic style”. Present figure belongs to the first type; according to their function, there are different interpretations: some believe them to be images of the ancestors; W. Fagg calls them a kind of “tutelary village guardians” serving to protect the land and its fertility. R. Sieber recognizes that there is a symbolic relationship to manhood and virility. A mixture of all these functions seems to be correct. One “ihambe” statue or a couple of them were placed 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.
Littérature comparée
Neyt, Francois, The Arts of the Benue, Michigan 1985, p. 162, ill. IV.1 ff.