SWEEEEEET FEMALE 8.5" YORUBA IBIJI with BEADS C.1960

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SWEEEEEET FEMALE 8.5" YORUBA IBIJI with BEADS C.1960

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Sold Date: 08/28/2007
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art

YORUBA
IBIJI FIGURE
NIGERIA
PRE - C. 1960
A FEMALE
IN EXCELLENT CONDITION.
8.5 INCHES TALL

The Yoruba live in the south western Nigeria and neighbouring Benin Republic. (Benin was formally Dahomey). The people who speak Yoruba had 25 kingdoms in the past. (City-States). These kingdoms were all separate entities but worked together. Ife-Ife was founded around 1850 AD. The great kingdom of Oyo based in the city of Oyo was founded around 1350 and was still in existence in 1850. Major kingdoms of the Yoruba are, Oyo, Ife, Ijesha, Ekiti, Shabe, Ketu, Owo, Ondo, Itsekiri, Ijebu, Ejbado and Awori. The Yoruba peoples are prolific artists and craftsmen and the name "Yoruba" describes both a language and a tribe that can be found living in the Republic of Benin and across Nigeria. Most of their art date between the late 19th and middle of the 20th century. For the Yoruba people their link between two worlds is their religion. Priests and Priestesses perform this duty. A more simple link is found in "twinning" . "Twinning" is a phenomenon unique to Yorubans. About 45 in every 1000 births are twins. Twinning is very special to the Yoruba people, and they exist in the normal and spiritual worlds and are believed to share one soul. The death of one twin is so feared by the Yoruba people it is never ever discussed.The large number of ere ibeji produced results in a great diversity of local and regional styles and individual artistic creativity. The hairstyle, facial markings, figural stance and proportions of this pair of ere ibeji place them in the greater Oyo Oshogbo region perhaps by an artist who worked in an area of overlapping styles. The Yoruba of Nigeria and The Benin Republic are the single largest art-producing people of sub-Saharan Africa. Numbering approximately 25 million they have a rich tradition of art dating back to their founding sometime during the 10th century at the ancient Yoruba capital of Ife. The Yoruba are also known for their extraordinarily high rate of multiple births and one of the highest in the world as regards twin birth. At one point in the past twins known as ibeji, were thought to be evil and were quickly killed as they were thought to be monsters and abnormal. But a cult of twins developed during the middle of the 18th century among the southwestern Yoruba that spread to all areas of Yoruba culture. By the 19th century the cult of twins was firmly established in which the twins were now seen to be orishas or minor deities who blessed their families with good fortune. The death of either of the twins or both is thought to be calamitous for the family that must be remedied by appeasing the soul of the deceased child. An Ifa diviner is consulted who will recommend that a small carving of the deceased twin should be made by a particular carver and put in the care of the mother who will treat the small wooden figure as though it were the deceased twin and alive. The figure will be of the same sex and w indicated the facial marks (scarification) of the descent group will be present. The soul, which had been split between them when the twins were born, now again has a place to reside in the figure that represents the dead twin. The ere ibeji, figure of the twin will be fed, washed, clothed and treated as though it were alive and present. On special days such as the twin's birthdays, are ere ibeji cult days, mothers will at times go the market place and sing and dance with the ere ibeji. They would be honored by other women with presents and money given to them in recognition of their special status as a mother of twins. When the birth mother dies the care and feeding of the twin figure will be taken up by other members of the extended family so that ere ibeji may be familiar to a number of generations of the same family. Ere ibeji are also identified with the Yoruba Thunder God Shango who is known by red beads around the waist or ankles and often by the application of blue indigo to the hair. Sometimes ere ibeji will wear beaded vests or ...