author(s): margaret thompson drewal source: african arts...

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Projections from the Top in Yoruba ArtAuthor(s): Margaret Thompson DrewalSource: African Arts, Vol. 11, No. 1, (Oct., 1977), pp. 43-92Published by: UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies CenterStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3335223Accessed: 22/07/2008 14:07

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PROJECTIONS FROM THE TOP IN YORUBA ART

Yoruba art is well known to the readers of African Arts, and the corpus of schol-

arship on this subject is expanding rapidly. Recent studies tend to be particularistic, focusing on forms associated with specific cults or ritual contexts. This essay takes an alternate and complementary approach, analyzing the significance of a motif often mentioned in the literature but almost totally unexplored. I will refer to this motif very broadly as a "projection from the top": the projection must be attached to the head or the top of a construction.1 This motif appears in hairstyles, headgear, wood masks, cloth masquerade costumes, sculpture, and architecture. Despite great variation in form and medium and despite multiple shades of meaning, these projections share a basic principle of Yoruba religious thought.

The Yoruba view all organic matter as pos- sessing a vital force (ase) that can be manipu- lated to regulate the quality of man's life. Herbalists, native doctors, priests, and divin- ers prepare according to formula such natural elements as leaves, stones, water, earth, and parts of animals.2 As medicinal preparations, they may be carried in a container, rubbed on the skin, ingested, or entered into the bloodstream through incisions. Particularly relevant to this discussion is the fact that preparations constituting ase are placed inside incisions made on the crania of priests and pries-

tesses who then become mediums for the gods.

The priest is possessed on ritual occasions by the spirit of the god. The Yoruba say the god "mounts" (gun) the inside head (ori inun) of his priest, and the head swells (wu), taking on the personality of the god. A possession priest is known as adosu-literally, "one who receives osu." Osu as defined by Pierre Verger is "a ball of the size of a knot made of the elements consitituting the ashe [vital force] of the gods, reduced to powder and amalgams" (1954b:324). In a Yoruba- derived cult house in Bahia, Brazil, I saw an adosu with an osu recently embedded in incisions made on the top of the head (Fig. 1). The term also refers to hair that is allowed to grow over the spot of the incision. In Figure 2 the osu is a square patch of hair. The hairstyles of Oshun priests from Oshogbo are more prominent; the patch has developed into a pro- nounced tuft or conical shape projecting from the cranium (Fig. 4).

Related to the hairstyles of these priests are those of royal messengers, ilari (Fig. 3). In the past ilari served as intermediaries between

the king and his officials and the various cult groups (Morton-Williams 1964:253). They and their distinctive hairdos were known as far west as Porto-Novo in Republique Populaire du Benin (Dahomey). According to A. Akindele and C. Aguessy, in the kingdom of Porto-Novo the head of a new "lari" is shaved "taking care to leave a cone of hair at the summit of his cranium" (1953:60). This hairdo marks ilari as consecrated to the ser- vice of the king and invests them with some of the king's powers. The roles of adosu and ilari are similar in that both are intermediaries endowed with certain powers of their as- sociates. Ilari literally means "incision on the head," ila ori. Samuel Johnson reports medicines placed in the head were "supposed to be a charm capable of giving effect to whatever the name given to the individual at the same time signifies" (1921:61). So striking is the role and image of ilari that they have been depicted in Gelede masks (see Drewal, 1974, fig. 8), identifiable by their distinctive stem-shaped hairdos.3 Like the intersecting lines painted on the head of the Brazilian initiate (Fig. 1), the hairline of the ilari,

ABOVE: 1 CANDOMBLE INITIATE WITH PAINTED INTERSECTING LINES AND OSU ON TOP OF SHAVEN HEAD. BAHIA, BRAZIL, 1974. LEFT: 2. AN ADOSU WITH A SMALL SQUARE PATCH OF HAIR (OSU) MARKING THE PLACE WHERE MEDICINE HAS BEEN RUBBED INTO HER HEAD. EGBADO, 1975.

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separating the right from the left side, is intersected by the vertical line of the tuft which marks the place of the incision.

Another example of the projection from the top of the head is found in the most sacred mask of the Gelede society, called Iyanla or Ososomu, the Great Mother (Fig. 8).4 The projection is again called osu, representing a tuft of hair, and it reflects one of the Great Mother's praise names: Apokodosu (a pa oko di osu), "The One Who Killed Her Husband in order to Receive Osu." The osu here, like those on the heads of priests and royal messengers, signifies that the mask has been prepared with powerful substances. So potent is the preparation that gazing upon the mask will cause bad dreams and temporary insanity, and women of child-bearing age risk amenorrhea and infertility. In another mask from the same general area, the osu was replaced by a single bird perched on top, reflecting the power of the Great Mother to transform herself into a bird in the night. The Yoruba refer to the Mother as Oloju Meji-"One with Two Faces"-and Abaara Meji-"The One Who Possesses Two Bodies." As one informant explains, "You see her one way in the day, and at midnight she turns to another thing." The projection on the top of her head, then, also hints at the vital force, represented by the bird, inside the head.

The idea that projections from the head may characterize vital force is apparent in the form and context of Yoruba oshe Shango (Figs. 5, 6). These dance staffs are carried generally by one possessed by Shango, god of thunder. The double celts projecting from the head represent vital force (Verger 1964:17) and reflect the god's power to hurl thundercelts to earth in the form of lightning, a power believed to be shared by priests of Shango (Wescott and Morton-Williams

6. A PRIESTESS POSSESSED BY SHANGO DANCES WITH AN OSHE. OHORI, 1975.

5. OSHE SHANGO WITH THE DOUBLE CELT MOTIF SPRINGING FROM THE DEVOTEE S HEAD. PROBABLY EGBADO. CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY.

1962:27). In Figure 6, a priestess possessed by Shango dances with an oshe, which in essence mirrors the state of the priestess carrying it: her head is swelled with the presence of Shango, and the thundercelts emerging from the head of the kneeling priestess depicted on the sculpture convey the nature of the vital force in her head.

Other images of the head radiating inner power are depicted in chalk drawings on an adosu's compound wall (Fig. 11). The priestess says that these images are spirits and they have many things projecting from their heads

3. ROYAL MESSENGER (ILARI) OF THE KING (ALAAFIN) OF OYO. AFTER A PHOTOGRAPH BY VERGER, ca. 1950 IN THE ARCHIVES, I.R.A.D., PORTO-NOVO, R.P. DU BENIN (DAHOMEY).

4. OSHUN PRIEST AT OSHOGBO, NIGERIA. AFTER VERGER (1954a: pl. 110).

that cannot be seen with "the naked eyes." The lidded pot on the head of one image has substances inside that "we cannot know." Like the hairstyles of priestesses, royal messengers and the Great Mother, and like the double thundercelts depicted on oshe Shango, these projections from the head are visualiza- tions of the vital force that resides inside.

Nowhere is the concept of inner power more apparent than in Egungun iconography. Egungun masqueraders represent spirits from the realm of the ancestors. Performances of Egungun affirm the Yoruba belief in the inter- cession of ancestors in the affairs of their descendants while precautions to prevent the audience from touching the performers rein- force the separation of the two realms. Three types of Egungun from the Egbado area of Yorubaland illustrate projections from the top of the head (Figs. 9, 10, 12). The first is Alabala (Fig. 10), probably the most common type of Egungun in this area since it is the first costume a cult member acquires. Each Alabala has an osu in the form of a tuft made of yarn. An Egungun tailor commenting on the tuft said, "When that osu is there, it means that the cloth of that Egungun is com- plete. So it can be taken out. But if that osu is not there, you will never see them carry it out and say that Egungun is coming." The osu tells us that the Egungun has been prepared with the proper ingredients for efficacy.

TOP LEFT: 7. EGUN ELEGBA WITH AN ANIMAL HORN ? PROJECTING FROM HIS HEAD. OHORI, 1975. BOTTOM LEFT: 8. MASK OF THE GREAT MOTHER IYANLA/ OSOSOMU WITH A PROMINENT OSU. OHORI, 1975. TOP RIGHT: 9. EGUN ELEGBA WITH A YARN OSY JUST ABOVE THE FACE NETTING AND A CARVED HEADDRESS (ERE) DEPICTING THE GOD ELEGBA WITH TAILED HAIRSTYLE CURVING TO THE LEFT SIDE. EGBADO, 1975. BOTTOM RIGHT: 10. ALABALA MASQUERADER OF THE EGUNGUN CULT WITH AN OSU MADE OF YARN AT THE TOP OF THE HEAD. EGBADO, 1975.

44

Medicines are placed inside a calabash concealed in the garments, sometimes making the cloth bulge. This practice has been documented in myth by Joel Adedeji (1970:75). The first Alabala was reported to be a hunchback, and before he died he willed that whoever of his children had the hump should be given the mantle of Egungun and made the leader of the society. However, an impersonator took the garments and carried a calabash under his costume to simulate the hump. The myth states, "Oturu (the impersonator) has carried a gourd! Ifa was con- sulted for Oturu who carried a gourd and called it a hump!" The ruse was exposed by the drummers, but since the impersonator danced with great flourish, the Alaafin (king of Oyo) officially presented him with the mantle and made him the rightful heir to Egungun. The contents of the concealed calabash constitute the essence of Egungun. The osu is merely the outward sign of the presence of inner power and the authenticity of cloth.

A second type of Egungun is the powerful Onidan (Owner of Miracles) (Fig. 12). Like Alabala, Onidan is prepared with efficacious ingredients concealed within the garment. His osu, also made of yarn, runs horizontally along the upper border of the face netting. A third type of Egungun is Egun Elegba, who functions primarily as a crowd controller (Fig. 9).5 Carrying a whip he keeps the audience from approaching the spirit world of the Egungun. 6 He also serves Onidan, being the only type of the three Egungun discussed whose arms are free to handle equipment. Egun Elegba is also called Egun Eleere because he may carry a carved image (ere) on top of his head. Like Onidan, the projection of

Egun Elegba is arranged horizontally along the upper border of the face neeting. In addi- the upper border of the face netting. In addi- the Yoruba god Elegba with a tailed hairstyle curving to the left side (Fig. 9). Among the Ohori Yoruba, Egun Elegba is depicted with an animal horn projecting upward from the masquerader's head and slightly toward the left (Fig. 7). The horn itself is a container and is one of many ingredients with which the Egungun is prepared. The subtle bulge in the cloth indicates where medicine that endows the masquerader with power is concealed.

The projection depicted on the head of sculptures of Eshu-Elegba has received much attention in the literature (Wescott 1962; Thompson 1971:Ch. 4; Pemberton 1975) (Fig. 13). Referring to Elegba's tuft of hair, one praise poem states, "Elegba Esu of the road; Esu Adara does not have a head to carry loads; this pointed-headed Laroye does not have a head to carry loads" (Verger 1957:136). Robert Thompson notes that "this violates traditional decorum, for everyone in Yorubaland is expected to carry his share, depending upon age, on his head," and, based on a myth collected from a priest of Elegba, suggests the tuft on the top of his head is a symbol of his friendship with Ifa, the Yoruba deity of divination (1971: Ch 4/3).7 Ohori Yoruba priests say that Elegba must not be given loads to carry because he will steal them and refuse to share with the gods; the hairstyle prevents this possibility. His share of sacrifices is offered separately from the other gods and placed at the crossroads where he is believed to reside. Eshu is always given his offerings first, a reflection of his role as guardian of the crossroads, as one stationed between the realms of man and the gods. This perhaps explains the tuft motif culminating in another face (Fig. 13). Eshu sees into both realms and acts as the link between man and

the spirit world. This is indeed his role in Egungun. Like the osu of priests and royal messengers, Eshu-Elegba's osu identifies him as a character invested with certain authority and responsibility. The tuft of hair denies the mundane function of carrying loads and implies a head prepared with medicine. There is evidence to suggest a direct relationship between Eshu and certain of the king's ilari.8 Verger reports that it was the function of the leader of the ilari to make sacrifices to Elegba (1957:115).

The power in Eshu-Elegba's head can best be understood in the context of another class of art object that also frequently displays a head projection: paired figures joined by a leather thong at their bases, which must hang upside down either on shrines or around the necks of priests, who wear them on market days (Fig. 14). The priests say if the head is upright there will be confusion and possibly bloodshed. Before the objects may be carried outside, offerings of corn and gin must be placed beneath them. Upon encountering a priest wearing these inverted figures, a person must pay alms. Giving small amounts of money to a dormant Eshu (one whose head is down) insures those trading in the market of a successful day. Eshu with an upright head is a trickster who brings chaos and trouble.9

In the foregoing examples of head projections, the role of mediator has appeared. If a divination, the central mediating system of the Yoruba, is performed by trained priests and serves to order the universe by revealing

11. CHALK DRAWINGS OF THE ORISA ONDO AND ARE ON A PRIESTESS COMPOUND WALL EGBADO, 1975.

12. ONIDAN, OWNER-OF-MIRACLES, WHOSE OSU OF YARN RUNS HORIZONTALLY ALONG THE UPPER BOR- DER OF THE FACE NETTING. EGBADO, 1975.

13. ESHU-ELEGBA DANCE WAND. WOOD, COWRIES, 37.5cm. GIFT OF RALPH B. LLOYD FOUNDATION. MU- SEUM OF CULTURAL HISTORY, UCLA.

46

14. ELEGBA PRIEST WEARING PAIRED FIGURES AROUND HIS NECK AND A KONKOSO (HAT WORN BY POSSESSION PRIESTS) WITH FEATHERS AND PROJEC- TION AT THE TOP. OHORI, 1975.

the thoughts and actions of gods and ancestors, who are believed to influence man's existence. 0 Before a priest begins the divining process, he places his equipment so that he faces the doorway, or if divining in a grove he orients himself toward the path leading into the clearing. Precautions are taken to clear the path or doorway, for they are the road on which the spirits travel to the ceremony, and priests of Ifa say it is dangerous for people to come down the path during invocations. They divine on a wood tray known as opon Ifa. The border of the tray is dominated by the face of Eshu-Elegba, which always faces toward the diviner so that it is directly between the road of the spirits and the priest. Here again Eshu is intermediary. He is Elegba Eshu ona, "Elegba Eshu of the road" (Verger 1957:136).

By tapping the tip of an instrument called iro Ifa (Fig. 15) against the center of the divination tray, the diviner gains the attention of the gods. This tapper usually depicts a human figure with a pointed projection at either the head or the base. At the handle of the instrument is usually a cavity for the inser- tion of efficacious ingredients, but it is the point of the tapper that makes contact with the divination tray and, thus, the spirit world.1l

Another projection from the top appears on headgear. In certain Anago and Ohori towns, priests, before entering possession trance, must place tall conical hats on their heads (Fig. 16).12 These hats, surmounted by a stem (Fig. 18), share certain elements with Yoruba beaded crowns (Fig. 17). Thompson calls the projection on beaded crowns a "stem-on- cone" and notes that it is also found in brass ceremonial crowns (1970:14-15, figs. 8,

9).13 The hats worn by the possession priests are called konkoso, referring to the sieve- or sifter-like form made of dried grasses; Thompson illustrates the structure of a par- tially completed beaded crown that is also conical (1970, fig. 2). White chicken feathers are attached to the large beaded bird shown in Figure 17 during annual sacrifices to the crown. Similarly, birds are represented on the possession hats by feathers, which in one town were said to be symbols of extraordinary power. In another, the feathers were actually plucked from the first bird sacrifices made for the priests upon acquiring their positions as mediums. To avoid exposing efficacious medicines, the very sight of which can be dangerous, there is a prohibition against look- ing inside the hat, not unlike that preventing the king from gazing inside his beaded crown (Thompson 1970:10). More importantly, just as the priest is the closest link with the god, so is the "divine king" the link to the royal forefathers. He represents the royal dynasty, the ancestral force, which is incarnated in his beaded crown (Thompson 1970:8; Asiwaju 1976:114). A. I. Asiwaju confirms the significance of the crown: "The ade [crown], as an emblem of the royal ancestral spirit, consti- tutes an object in the palace shrine; and even when the Oba [king] was not present in person, theade (more often the original one) was publicly displayed, usually by being placed on the throne. Before it, the Yoruba were obliged to observe the same protocol of rever- ence and deference in the real presence of the monarch." Modified projections occur even among a king's everyday headgear (Fig. 20).14

Another object featuring the projection at the top is the ile ori, "house of the head" (Fig. 21), which contains a "head" made of 41 cowries strung together in the shape of a crown (Johnson 1921:27). Little is available in the literature about this object's use. More research on the spiritual concepts of ori (head), ori ode (outside head), and ori inun (inside head) and their relation to a person's destiny, individuality, intellect, personal power, and possession trance will undoubt- edly add further significance to projections from the top.15

The final example of this motif is architec- tural. In a large grove in Pobe, Republique Populaire du Benin, three shrines are devoted to three Anago Yoruba gods (M. T. Drewal 1975). Only the shrine for Elegba has a projection from the top of the roof that is ap- proximately one meter in height (Fig. 19). The construction here is non-functional and visually recalls the praise phrase, "This pointed-head Laroye does not have a head to

15. TWO FIGURATED IFA TAPPERS (IRO IFA). IVORY. LEFT. 32.4cm GIFT OF W. THOMAS DAVIS. RIGHT. 25.4cm. GIFT OF RALPH B. LLOYD FOUNDATION. MU- SEUM OF CULTURAL HISTORY, UCLA.

16. PRIEST POSSESSED BY THE ORISA ONDO WEARING A KONKOSO (POSSESSION HAT MADE OF A SIEVE WITH A PROJECTION AT THE TOP). ANAGO, 1973.

47

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carry loads" (Verger 1957:136). Cult officials say that Elegba is the god one finds first upon entering the sacred grove. His shrine lies across what is believed to be the original road taken to settle the town. It is here that the first sacrifices are made. These are crucial in opening successful communication with the gods. As the shrine is the dwelling of the "guardian of the road," the projection, in essence, is like a crossroads, where man establishes contact with the gods.

The most direct expression of the vertical projection as crossroads and its conceptualization in architecture occurs in the New World, primarily in Haiti in the concept of poteau mitan. The poteau mitan is the center post of the Voodoo ceremonial enclosure, and like the projection from Elegba's shrine, it is architecturally non-functional.16 More striking is that the poteau mitan is also known as poteau Legba (Maximi- lien 1945:34; Marcelin 1949:16; Deren 1972:97; Brown 1976). Numerous researchers report that the gods use the post to descend at a ceremony (Bastide 1958: 67-68; Courlander 1944:44; Deren 1972:36, 97; Metraux 1959:77). Harold Cour- lander gives a good description (1944:44): "This center pole, called a po'teau (or po'teau mitan) is a significant 'prop' in the drama and meaning of Haitian dancing. Down this pole the loa (spirits) come when they enter the gathering. Down this pole comes the drum-spirit, too, to enter into the head and sticks of the drums. At the foot of the po'teau sacrifices are laid out, and maize flour paintings made. In the topmost parts of the pole, protective household gardes, or fetiches, may be suspended, and in its branches may be hidden stone celts sacred to certain loa. Around this pole the dance characteristically takes place." Alfred Metraux (1959:77) calls the poteau "the passage for spirits . . . the ladder by which spirits come down into the

peristyle when they are invoked." Maya Deren (1972:97) relates the poteau mitan more specifically to the crossroads: "Legba-life-is the link between the visible, mortal world and the invisible, immortal realms . . . Since he is god of the

poles of the axis, of the axis itself, he is God of the Cross-roads, of the vital intersection between the two worlds. The poteau mitan, the center post of the peristyle, through which the loa arrive at the ceremony, is also called the poteau Legba."

Vertical projections in these various contexts and forms may be said to act as a poteau mitan, an avenue of the divine, with vital ingredients embedded at their bases to facilitate spiritual presence. This idea can be most clearly illustrated by the Brazilian medium's head (Fig. 1) recently endowed with ase. Painted lines cross where the medicine was inserted; a raised nodule forms the vertical projection. In the West African context, certain royal messengers' hairdos demonstrate this concept (see H. J. Drewal 1974, fig. 8). The head is divided into right and left sides, intersected by a vertical stem. There is a famous tale about Eshu wearing a cap that is white on one side and black on the other. Eshu caused a fight between two friends who saw his hat from two different perspectives. While the two men were settling their dispute about whether the cap was white or black, Eshu went about burning the town. The story defines Eshu as a trickster, but it also warns that the two worlds that he mediates must remain separate or existence will

TOP LEFT. 17. BEADED CROWN WITH VEIL. WHITE CHICKEN FEATHERS ARE ATTACHED TO THE BEADED BIRD ON TOP DURING ANNUAL SACRIFICES TO THE CROWN. SAID TO HAVE BEEN MADE AT IJEBU-ODE, ca. 1948. AWORI, 1975. TOP RIGHT: 18. KONKOSO (POSSESSION HAT) DECORATED WITH COLORFUL CLOTH, CALABASHES, BIRDS FEATHERS, AND A PROJECTION AT THE TOP. WORN BY A PRIEST OF ESHU-ELEGBA. ANAGO, 1973. BOTTOM LEFT: 19. SHRINE FOR ESHU-ELEBGA WITH ROOF SURMOUNTED BY A METER-HIGH NON-FUNCTIONAL PROJECTION. ANAGO, 1973. BOTTOM RIGHT: 20. ROYAL HEADGEAR FOR EVERYDAY USE WITH MODIFIED PROJECTION ON THE TOP. AWORI, 1975.

be chaotic. The lines that divide the head (the intersecting lines on the Brazilian initiate's head, the sagittal line of the shaved hair of royal messengers, and the black-and-white cap of Eshu) suggest the separation of realms. The vertical axis conveys their interpenetration.17 Only those persons or objects "prepared" for mediating roles can operate in both.

As we have seen, the projection from the top is usually associated with divine presence. Those who don it either in the form of a hairstyle (osu) or headgear function as intermediaries. They include priests, royal messengers, Egungun masqueraders, and the sacred king. And the projection appears in mediating objects such as the Great Mother mask, the Ifa tapper, oshe Shango, and sculpture for Eshu-Elegba. In certain contexts the projection may also be observed in architecture. The heads or tops of these mediating figures literally operate in two realms-realms accessible only through those persons and objects that have been specially endowed for transcendence. Projections from the top, then, are a dominant symbol of the vital force of a divine associate; and in their various forms and contexts they may characterize the particular nature of that force. D

Notes, page 91

21. HOUSE OF THE HEAD (ILE ORI). WOOD, COWRIES, FABRIC, 36.2cm GIFT OF W THOMAS DAVIS. MUSEUM OF CULTURAL HISTORY, UCLA.

49

31. According to Kyerematen, eight Asantehenes are represented by twelve swords, with only four chiefs having the customary two swords (1961: 11-14). The swords of destooled chiefs are not re- tained in the state regalia. 32. Linguist staffs also served this function. Significantly, many of the Asante paramount chief's staffs date to the 1920s and 1930s. ASANTE SWORD ORNAMENTS, Bibliography Anonymous. 1977. Durbar in Honour of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Kumasi. Barbot, John. 1744. A Description of the Coasts of North and South Guinea, in A. Churchhill, Collection of Voyages and Travels, v. 5, London. Bassing, Allen and A. A. Y. Kyerematen, 1972. "The Enstoolment of an Asantehene." African Arts 5, 3: 28-31, 62-63. Bosman, William. 1907. A New and Accurate Description of the Coast of Guinea, London. First published 1704. Bowdich, Thomas Edward. 1819. Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee, London. Bravmann, Rene. 1968. "The State Sword-A Pre-Ashanti Tradi- tion." Ghana Notes and Queries 10: 1-4. Busia, Kofi A. 1951. The Position of the Chief in the Modern Political System of Ashanti, London. Claridge, W. Walton. 1915. A Historv of the Gold Coast and Ashanti, London, 2 vols. Cole, Herbert M. and Doran H. Ross. 1977. The Arts of Ghana, Los Angeles. de Marees, Pieter, 1905. "A description and historicall declaration of the golden Kingdome of Guinea ...." in Samuel Purchas, Purchas His Pilgrimes, v. 6, Glasgow. First published 1602. Donne, John B. 1977. "West African Goldwork," Connoisseur 194. 780: 100-106. Ehrlich, M. J. 1976. "Ashanti State Swords and Sword Orna- ments." Unpublished paper. Ellis, A. B. 1883. The Land of Fetish, London. Fagg, William. 1974. "Ashanti Gold." Connoisseur 185, 743: 41-48. Fagg, William and Margaret Plass. 1964. African Sculpture, Lon- don. Fischer, Eberhard and Hans Himmelheber. 1975. Das Gold in der Kunst Westafrikas, Zurich. Fraser, Douglas. 1972. "The Symbols of Ashanti Kingship." Afri- can Art and Leadership, eds. D. Fraser and H. Cole. Madison, pp. 137-152. Freeman, Thomas Birch. 1844. Journal of Various Visits to the Kingdoms of Ashanti, Aku, and Dahomi, London. Fynn, John Kofi. 1971. Asante and Its Neighbors 1700-1807, Lon- don. Kyerematen, A. A. Y. 1961. Regalia for an Ashanti Durbar, Kumasi. Kyerematen, A. A. Y. 1964. Panoply of Ghana, London. Kyerematen, A.A.Y. 1969/70. Kingship and Ceremony in Ashanti. Menzel, Brigette. 1968. Goldgewichte aus Ghana, Berlin. Meyerowitz, Eva L. R. 1951. The SacredState oftheAkan, London. Muller, Wilhelm Johann. 1673. Die Africanische auf der Guineis- chen Gold-Cust Gelegene Landschafft Fetu, Hamburg. Quarcoo, A. K. 1975. Leadership Art, Legon, Ghana. Ramseyer, Frederick and J. Kuhne. 1878. Four Years in Ashantee, London. Rattray, R. S. 1927. Religion and Art in Ashanti, London. Rattray, R. S. 1929. Ashanti Law and Constitution, London. Reindorf, Carl Christian. 1966. The History of the Gold Coast and Asante, Accra. First published ca. 1889. Tordoff, William. 1960. "The Exile and Repatriation of Nana Pre- mpeh I of Ashanti (1896-1924)." Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana 4, pt. 2: 33-58. van Dantzig, A. 1970. "A Note on 'The State Sword-A Pre- Ashanti Tradition." Ghana Notes and Queries 11: 47-48. Wilks, Ivor. 1975. Asante in the Nineteenth Century, London.

PROJECTIONS, Notes, from page 49 An earlier version of this paper was presented at the African Studies Association Conference in Boston, November4, 1976. It is based on field research among the Yoruba in 1970-71, 1973, and 1975 (sup- ported in part by grants from the Institute for Intercultural Studies, Inc.) and in Brazil among the members of the Yoruba-derived Candomble cult, Bahia, in 1974. I am grateful to Henry John Drewal for editorial comments and Raimi Akaki Taiwo for research assis- tance. Most of all I wish to acknowledge the wisdom of the Yoruba elders whose words and actions first suggested the import of the motif. I. The projection from the top might be called what Victor Turner terms a "dominant" symbol (1967:31): "Dominant symbols appear in many different ritual contexts, sometimes presiding over the whole procedure, sometimes over particular phases. The meaning- content of certain dominant symbols possesses a high degree of constancy and consistency throughout the total symbolic system . . Such symbols also possess considerable autonomy with regard to the aims of the rituals in which they appear." 2. See Warren, Buckley and Ayandokun (1973) and Verger (1967) for examples of medicinal formulas. 3. For a discussion and illustration of a Gelede mask depicting an ilari, see H. J. Drewal (1974:14-15). Apparently osu was worn by the Are-Ona-Kakanfo, the commander-in-chief of the Oyo army. Johnston writes (1921:74): ''Like the Ilaris, at the time of his taking office, he is first to shave his head completely, and 201 incisions are

31. According to Kyerematen, eight Asantehenes are represented by twelve swords, with only four chiefs having the customary two swords (1961: 11-14). The swords of destooled chiefs are not re- tained in the state regalia. 32. Linguist staffs also served this function. Significantly, many of the Asante paramount chief's staffs date to the 1920s and 1930s. ASANTE SWORD ORNAMENTS, Bibliography Anonymous. 1977. Durbar in Honour of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Kumasi. Barbot, John. 1744. A Description of the Coasts of North and South Guinea, in A. Churchhill, Collection of Voyages and Travels, v. 5, London. Bassing, Allen and A. A. Y. Kyerematen, 1972. "The Enstoolment of an Asantehene." African Arts 5, 3: 28-31, 62-63. Bosman, William. 1907. A New and Accurate Description of the Coast of Guinea, London. First published 1704. Bowdich, Thomas Edward. 1819. Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee, London. Bravmann, Rene. 1968. "The State Sword-A Pre-Ashanti Tradi- tion." Ghana Notes and Queries 10: 1-4. Busia, Kofi A. 1951. The Position of the Chief in the Modern Political System of Ashanti, London. Claridge, W. Walton. 1915. A Historv of the Gold Coast and Ashanti, London, 2 vols. Cole, Herbert M. and Doran H. Ross. 1977. The Arts of Ghana, Los Angeles. de Marees, Pieter, 1905. "A description and historicall declaration of the golden Kingdome of Guinea ...." in Samuel Purchas, Purchas His Pilgrimes, v. 6, Glasgow. First published 1602. Donne, John B. 1977. "West African Goldwork," Connoisseur 194. 780: 100-106. Ehrlich, M. J. 1976. "Ashanti State Swords and Sword Orna- ments." Unpublished paper. Ellis, A. B. 1883. The Land of Fetish, London. Fagg, William. 1974. "Ashanti Gold." Connoisseur 185, 743: 41-48. Fagg, William and Margaret Plass. 1964. African Sculpture, Lon- don. Fischer, Eberhard and Hans Himmelheber. 1975. Das Gold in der Kunst Westafrikas, Zurich. Fraser, Douglas. 1972. "The Symbols of Ashanti Kingship." Afri- can Art and Leadership, eds. D. Fraser and H. Cole. Madison, pp. 137-152. Freeman, Thomas Birch. 1844. Journal of Various Visits to the Kingdoms of Ashanti, Aku, and Dahomi, London. Fynn, John Kofi. 1971. Asante and Its Neighbors 1700-1807, Lon- don. Kyerematen, A. A. Y. 1961. Regalia for an Ashanti Durbar, Kumasi. Kyerematen, A. A. Y. 1964. Panoply of Ghana, London. Kyerematen, A.A.Y. 1969/70. Kingship and Ceremony in Ashanti. Menzel, Brigette. 1968. Goldgewichte aus Ghana, Berlin. Meyerowitz, Eva L. R. 1951. The SacredState oftheAkan, London. Muller, Wilhelm Johann. 1673. Die Africanische auf der Guineis- chen Gold-Cust Gelegene Landschafft Fetu, Hamburg. Quarcoo, A. K. 1975. Leadership Art, Legon, Ghana. Ramseyer, Frederick and J. Kuhne. 1878. Four Years in Ashantee, London. Rattray, R. S. 1927. Religion and Art in Ashanti, London. Rattray, R. S. 1929. Ashanti Law and Constitution, London. Reindorf, Carl Christian. 1966. The History of the Gold Coast and Asante, Accra. First published ca. 1889. Tordoff, William. 1960. "The Exile and Repatriation of Nana Pre- mpeh I of Ashanti (1896-1924)." Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana 4, pt. 2: 33-58. van Dantzig, A. 1970. "A Note on 'The State Sword-A Pre- Ashanti Tradition." Ghana Notes and Queries 11: 47-48. Wilks, Ivor. 1975. Asante in the Nineteenth Century, London.

PROJECTIONS, Notes, from page 49 An earlier version of this paper was presented at the African Studies Association Conference in Boston, November4, 1976. It is based on field research among the Yoruba in 1970-71, 1973, and 1975 (sup- ported in part by grants from the Institute for Intercultural Studies, Inc.) and in Brazil among the members of the Yoruba-derived Candomble cult, Bahia, in 1974. I am grateful to Henry John Drewal for editorial comments and Raimi Akaki Taiwo for research assis- tance. Most of all I wish to acknowledge the wisdom of the Yoruba elders whose words and actions first suggested the import of the motif. I. The projection from the top might be called what Victor Turner terms a "dominant" symbol (1967:31): "Dominant symbols appear in many different ritual contexts, sometimes presiding over the whole procedure, sometimes over particular phases. The meaning- content of certain dominant symbols possesses a high degree of constancy and consistency throughout the total symbolic system . . Such symbols also possess considerable autonomy with regard to the aims of the rituals in which they appear." 2. See Warren, Buckley and Ayandokun (1973) and Verger (1967) for examples of medicinal formulas. 3. For a discussion and illustration of a Gelede mask depicting an ilari, see H. J. Drewal (1974:14-15). Apparently osu was worn by the Are-Ona-Kakanfo, the commander-in-chief of the Oyo army. Johnston writes (1921:74): ''Like the Ilaris, at the time of his taking office, he is first to shave his head completely, and 201 incisions are made on his occiput, with 201 different lancets and specially prepared ingredients from 201 viols [sic] are rubbed into the cuts, one for each. This is supposed to render him fearless and courageous. They are always shaved, but the hairon the inoculated part is allowed to grow long, and when plaited, forms a tuft or sort of pigtail . . . They [Kakanfo] have all been more or less troublesome, due it is supposed to the effect of the ingredients they were inoculated with.'"

made on his occiput, with 201 different lancets and specially prepared ingredients from 201 viols [sic] are rubbed into the cuts, one for each. This is supposed to render him fearless and courageous. They are always shaved, but the hairon the inoculated part is allowed to grow long, and when plaited, forms a tuft or sort of pigtail . . . They [Kakanfo] have all been more or less troublesome, due it is supposed to the effect of the ingredients they were inoculated with.'"

4. For a detailed analysis of lyanla/Ososomu, see H. J. Drewal (forthcoming). 5. Egun Elegba is simply one manifestation of the god Eshu/Elegba. 6. Pemberton's informants (1975:27) explain that "Eshu goes out like the king's messenger, blowing his whistle to say that a great person is coming. 'He clears the way.' " 7. The myth relates how Ifa, to test the sincerity of his friends, spread the rumor that he had died. Most of them ignored the rumor, but Eshu, who was in the process of shaving his head, ran to Ifa upon hearing the news, tears streaming down his cheeks. Ifa said, "I have seen you arrive with your hair unfinished, Henceforth, this tuft will remain on your head as a sign of friendship which is genuine" (Thompson 1971:Ch. 4/3). 8. Pemberton informs me that "there is certainly a relationship between Eshu and certain of the king's ilari in Ila [Orangun]" (Personal communication, January 12, 1977). 9. For Eshu as trickster/agent provocateur see Wescott (1962). 10. For a review of the literature on Ifa, see Bascom (1969:13-25). 11. It is perhaps significant to note that Walker (1976:24) records the use of the tapper by women as a musical instrument in honor of Eshu. The pointed end of the tapper may therefore be a direct reference to the same configuration on Eshu sculpture. 12. Possession hats of this type are worn to my knowledge throughout Anago and Ohori areas by priests of Ogun, Sango, Odua, Elegba, Ondo, Are, and Sopannon. For a detailed description of a ceremony where these hats are used, see M. T. Drewal (1975). 13. Thompson (1970:10) describes traditional crowns as "either cone-shaped (frequently with an aperture at the point of the cone where the base of a beaded bird may be inserted) or a vertical stem-on-cone structure characterized by the elongation of the cone so that a kind of long narrow cylinder is created at the top of which presides a bird and the sides of which often serve as ground for subsidiary birds arranged as an inward-facing circle." Another type of headgear fashioned like a crown is thebayani. Like the crown and the possession hats, the bavani has a projection at the top. Babatunde Lawal (1971:32) reports it is the official headgear of Shango priests "donned on ceremonial occasions, especially when going to demand ransom at a house just struck by lightning.'' A neolithic thundercelt, the most sacred of objects on any Shango shrine, representing his vital force, is sewn into the bayani. Lawal (1971:101) says that the axe-headed oshe, discussed above, is grounded in the idea that by adding the celts to the top one symbolically reinforces the power already held to be immanent in the head, "as Sango priests set 'live' thunderbolts in their headdress, the bayani." 14. Crowns for everyday use probably reflect European (or more specifically British) crown conventions. It may be that non-Yoruba crowns suited traditional purposes in part because of the projection. 15. There are many more examples of projections from the top in Yoruba art, including Igodo masks, Elefon masks, Eyinle pots, and Osanyin puppets. Beyond Yorubaland, projections from the top of the head appear in the King of Benin's royal headgear and bronze heads surmounted with elephants' tusks found on ancestor shrines. Paula Ben-Amos, in commenting on this paper after its presentation at Boston, noted that the crown of the Oba of Benin does in fact

4. For a detailed analysis of lyanla/Ososomu, see H. J. Drewal (forthcoming). 5. Egun Elegba is simply one manifestation of the god Eshu/Elegba. 6. Pemberton's informants (1975:27) explain that "Eshu goes out like the king's messenger, blowing his whistle to say that a great person is coming. 'He clears the way.' " 7. The myth relates how Ifa, to test the sincerity of his friends, spread the rumor that he had died. Most of them ignored the rumor, but Eshu, who was in the process of shaving his head, ran to Ifa upon hearing the news, tears streaming down his cheeks. Ifa said, "I have seen you arrive with your hair unfinished, Henceforth, this tuft will remain on your head as a sign of friendship which is genuine" (Thompson 1971:Ch. 4/3). 8. Pemberton informs me that "there is certainly a relationship between Eshu and certain of the king's ilari in Ila [Orangun]" (Personal communication, January 12, 1977). 9. For Eshu as trickster/agent provocateur see Wescott (1962). 10. For a review of the literature on Ifa, see Bascom (1969:13-25). 11. It is perhaps significant to note that Walker (1976:24) records the use of the tapper by women as a musical instrument in honor of Eshu. The pointed end of the tapper may therefore be a direct reference to the same configuration on Eshu sculpture. 12. Possession hats of this type are worn to my knowledge throughout Anago and Ohori areas by priests of Ogun, Sango, Odua, Elegba, Ondo, Are, and Sopannon. For a detailed description of a ceremony where these hats are used, see M. T. Drewal (1975). 13. Thompson (1970:10) describes traditional crowns as "either cone-shaped (frequently with an aperture at the point of the cone where the base of a beaded bird may be inserted) or a vertical stem-on-cone structure characterized by the elongation of the cone so that a kind of long narrow cylinder is created at the top of which presides a bird and the sides of which often serve as ground for subsidiary birds arranged as an inward-facing circle." Another type of headgear fashioned like a crown is thebayani. Like the crown and the possession hats, the bavani has a projection at the top. Babatunde Lawal (1971:32) reports it is the official headgear of Shango priests "donned on ceremonial occasions, especially when going to demand ransom at a house just struck by lightning.'' A neolithic thundercelt, the most sacred of objects on any Shango shrine, representing his vital force, is sewn into the bayani. Lawal (1971:101) says that the axe-headed oshe, discussed above, is grounded in the idea that by adding the celts to the top one symbolically reinforces the power already held to be immanent in the head, "as Sango priests set 'live' thunderbolts in their headdress, the bayani." 14. Crowns for everyday use probably reflect European (or more specifically British) crown conventions. It may be that non-Yoruba crowns suited traditional purposes in part because of the projection. 15. There are many more examples of projections from the top in Yoruba art, including Igodo masks, Elefon masks, Eyinle pots, and Osanyin puppets. Beyond Yorubaland, projections from the top of the head appear in the King of Benin's royal headgear and bronze heads surmounted with elephants' tusks found on ancestor shrines. Paula Ben-Amos, in commenting on this paper after its presentation at Boston, noted that the crown of the Oba of Benin does in fact

contain medicine inside the central projection. To the west of the Yorubaland among the Fon and Ewe, figures representing the Eshu/Elegba-related deity Legba in many cases have small projections from the center of the head. The extent and significance of these head projections await further research. 16. Roger Bastide (1958:67) documents the existence of a center pole in Candomble houses, at the foot of which is buried the axe (ase) of the cult. During the summer of 1974 I only saw one cult house containing the center post. Perhaps significantly it was in the house considered throughout Bahia to be the oldest and most traditional. M. and F. Herskovits (1947:191-192) document a center pole com- parable to those in Haiti and Brazil in the Protestant cult of the Trinity in Trinidad. 17. While it may be said that vertical projections from the top suggest beings endowed with special powers of an associate, it is important to recongize that there are also many individuals whose heads have been likewise specially endowed, but who communicate this fact in other ways than by displaying a projection. For example, possession priests of Shango in Egbado area shave the front of the head and plait the back portion. This coiffure alludes to possession, and thus to a head endowed with the force of Shango, by creating the illusion of an enlarged forehead. As will be remembered, in possession the head is believed to swell (wu). PROJECTIONS, Bibliography Adedeji, J. 1970. "The Origin of the Yoruba Masque Theatre: The Use of Ifa Divination Corpus as Historical Evidence," African Notes 6,1:70-86. Akindele, A. and C. Aguessy. 1953. "Contributions a l'Etude de L'Histoire de L'Ancien Royaume de Porto-Novo." Memoires de 1'I.F.A.N., 25. Asiwaju, A. 1. 1976. "Political Motivation and Oral Historical Traditions in Africa: The Case of Yoruba Crowns, 1900-1960," Africa 46,2:113-127. Bascom, W. R. 1969. Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Man in West Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Bastide, R. 1958. Le Candomble de Bahia (Rite Nago). Paris: Mouton & Co. Brown K. M. 1976. "The Center and the Edges: A Structural Analysis of Haitian Religious Imagery." Paper for the Afro- American Religious History Working Group of the American Academy of Religion, October. Courlander, H. 1944. "Dance and Dance-Drama in Haiti." The Function of Dance in Human Society, ed. F. Boas. New York: The Boas School. Deren, M. 1972. Divine Horsemen: The Voodoo Gods offHaiti, New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc. Drewal, H. J. 1974. "Gelede Masks: Imagery and Motif." African Arts 7,4:8-19, 62-63, 95-96. Drewal, H. J. Forthcoming. "Art and the Perception of Women in Yoruba Culture." Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines. Drewal, M. T. 1975. "Symbols of Possession: A Study of Move- ment and Regalia in an Anago-Yoruba Ceremony.'' Dance Research Journal of Cord 7,2:15-24.

contain medicine inside the central projection. To the west of the Yorubaland among the Fon and Ewe, figures representing the Eshu/Elegba-related deity Legba in many cases have small projections from the center of the head. The extent and significance of these head projections await further research. 16. Roger Bastide (1958:67) documents the existence of a center pole in Candomble houses, at the foot of which is buried the axe (ase) of the cult. During the summer of 1974 I only saw one cult house containing the center post. Perhaps significantly it was in the house considered throughout Bahia to be the oldest and most traditional. M. and F. Herskovits (1947:191-192) document a center pole com- parable to those in Haiti and Brazil in the Protestant cult of the Trinity in Trinidad. 17. While it may be said that vertical projections from the top suggest beings endowed with special powers of an associate, it is important to recongize that there are also many individuals whose heads have been likewise specially endowed, but who communicate this fact in other ways than by displaying a projection. For example, possession priests of Shango in Egbado area shave the front of the head and plait the back portion. This coiffure alludes to possession, and thus to a head endowed with the force of Shango, by creating the illusion of an enlarged forehead. As will be remembered, in possession the head is believed to swell (wu). PROJECTIONS, Bibliography Adedeji, J. 1970. "The Origin of the Yoruba Masque Theatre: The Use of Ifa Divination Corpus as Historical Evidence," African Notes 6,1:70-86. Akindele, A. and C. Aguessy. 1953. "Contributions a l'Etude de L'Histoire de L'Ancien Royaume de Porto-Novo." Memoires de 1'I.F.A.N., 25. Asiwaju, A. 1. 1976. "Political Motivation and Oral Historical Traditions in Africa: The Case of Yoruba Crowns, 1900-1960," Africa 46,2:113-127. Bascom, W. R. 1969. Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Man in West Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Bastide, R. 1958. Le Candomble de Bahia (Rite Nago). Paris: Mouton & Co. Brown K. M. 1976. "The Center and the Edges: A Structural Analysis of Haitian Religious Imagery." Paper for the Afro- American Religious History Working Group of the American Academy of Religion, October. Courlander, H. 1944. "Dance and Dance-Drama in Haiti." The Function of Dance in Human Society, ed. F. Boas. New York: The Boas School. Deren, M. 1972. Divine Horsemen: The Voodoo Gods offHaiti, New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc. Drewal, H. J. 1974. "Gelede Masks: Imagery and Motif." African Arts 7,4:8-19, 62-63, 95-96. Drewal, H. J. Forthcoming. "Art and the Perception of Women in Yoruba Culture." Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines. Drewal, M. T. 1975. "Symbols of Possession: A Study of Move- ment and Regalia in an Anago-Yoruba Ceremony.'' Dance Research Journal of Cord 7,2:15-24.

CONTRIBUTORS EZIO BASSANI is a consultant in African art for the Centro di Studi per la Museologia in Flor- ence, and contributor to the art review Critica d'Arte. WALTER BATTISS, a well-known South African artist and an authority on rock painting, was formerly head of the Department of Fine Art at the University of South Africa. MARGARET THOMPSON DREWAL received her M.A. in dance from Columbia University. The current paper grew out of research on possession trance and dance in West Africa 1970-71, 1973 and 1975 and in Brazil in 1974. GEORGE R. ELLIS is Assistant to the Director of the Museum of Cultural History, UCLA, and a member of the African Arts consulting editorial board. IRIS KAY was for many years a numerical analyst and computer programmer. She is now a travel consultant and devotes much of her time studing the history and art of West Africa. KEITH NICKLIN has been working as an Ethnographer in the Nigerian Federal Department of Antiquities since 1970. JOHN W. NUNLEY received a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Washington and has been teaching at the University of Illinois since 1974. In 1977-78 he will be studying the Eri Devil Masqueraders of Sierra Leone, Freetown, with the support of a Fulbright-Hayes grant. J.V. OLUFEMI RICHARDS is a Sierra Leonean born in Nigeria, and is a member of the Re- search Committee of Nigerian Arts Council and on the Advisory Board of the journal Black Or- pheus. He recently taught African art and architecture at the University of Massachusetts on a two-year leave from the University of Lagos. JOHN ADKINS RICHARDSON is currently Professor of Art and Design at Southern Illinois Uni- versity at Edwardsville. DORAN H. ROSS is a Ph.D. candidate in African art history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In collaboration with Herbert M. Cole, he has spent the past two years in research and preparation for "The Arts of Ghana" exhibition. JILL SALMONS is a doctoral candidate at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She spent the past several years researching Annang art in Cross River State.

CONTRIBUTORS EZIO BASSANI is a consultant in African art for the Centro di Studi per la Museologia in Flor- ence, and contributor to the art review Critica d'Arte. WALTER BATTISS, a well-known South African artist and an authority on rock painting, was formerly head of the Department of Fine Art at the University of South Africa. MARGARET THOMPSON DREWAL received her M.A. in dance from Columbia University. The current paper grew out of research on possession trance and dance in West Africa 1970-71, 1973 and 1975 and in Brazil in 1974. GEORGE R. ELLIS is Assistant to the Director of the Museum of Cultural History, UCLA, and a member of the African Arts consulting editorial board. IRIS KAY was for many years a numerical analyst and computer programmer. She is now a travel consultant and devotes much of her time studing the history and art of West Africa. KEITH NICKLIN has been working as an Ethnographer in the Nigerian Federal Department of Antiquities since 1970. JOHN W. NUNLEY received a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Washington and has been teaching at the University of Illinois since 1974. In 1977-78 he will be studying the Eri Devil Masqueraders of Sierra Leone, Freetown, with the support of a Fulbright-Hayes grant. J.V. OLUFEMI RICHARDS is a Sierra Leonean born in Nigeria, and is a member of the Re- search Committee of Nigerian Arts Council and on the Advisory Board of the journal Black Or- pheus. He recently taught African art and architecture at the University of Massachusetts on a two-year leave from the University of Lagos. JOHN ADKINS RICHARDSON is currently Professor of Art and Design at Southern Illinois Uni- versity at Edwardsville. DORAN H. ROSS is a Ph.D. candidate in African art history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In collaboration with Herbert M. Cole, he has spent the past two years in research and preparation for "The Arts of Ghana" exhibition. JILL SALMONS is a doctoral candidate at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She spent the past several years researching Annang art in Cross River State.

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Herskovits, M. J. and F. Herskovits. 1947. Trinidad Village. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Johnson, S. 1921. The History of the Yorubas. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Lawal, B. A. 1971. "Yoruba Sango Sculpture in Historical Retros- pect." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University. Marcelin, M. 1949. Mythologie Vodu (Rite Arada). Port-au-Prince: Editions Haitiennes. Maximilien, L. 1945. Le Vodou Haitien, Rite Radas-Canzo. Port- au-Prince: Imprimerie de L'Etat. Metraux, A. 1959. Voodoo in Haiti. London: Andre Deutsch Ltd. Morton-Williams, P. 1964. "An Outline of the Cosmology and Cult Organization of the Oyo Yoruba." Africa 34, 3:243-261. Pemberton, J. 1975. "Eshu-Elegba: The Yoruba Trickster God." African Arts 9,1:20-27, 66-70, 90-92. Thompson, R. F. 1970. "The Sign of the Divine King." African Arts 3,3:8-17, 74-80. Thompson, R. F. 1971. Black Gods and Kings: Yoruba Art at UCLA. Los Angeles: University of California Press. Turner, V. 1967. The Forest ofSymbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Verger, P. 1954a. Dieux D'Afrique. Paris: Paul Hartmann. Verger, P. 1954b. "Role Joue par I'Etat d'Hebetude au Cours de L'lnitiation des Novices aux Cultes des Orisha et Vodun." Bulletin de l'F.A.N. serie B 16,3-4:322-340. Verger, P. 1957. "Notes sur le Culte des Orisa et Vodun a Bahia, la Baie de Tous les Saintes au Bresil et a l'Ancienne C6te des Esclaves en Afrique." Memoires de l'I.F.A.N. 51. Verger, P. 1964. "The Yoruba High God-A Review of the Sources." Paper prepared for the Conference on the High God in Africa, Ibadan, December 14-18. Verger, P. F. 1967. Awon Ewe Osanyin: Yoruba Medicinal Leaves. Ile-Ife: Institute of African Studies, University of Ife. Walker, R. A. African Women/African Art. New York: African- American Institute. Warren, D. M., A. D. Buckley, and J.A. Ayandokun. 1973. Yoruba Medicines. Legon: The Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. Wescott, J. 1962. "The Sculpture and Myths of Eshu-Elegba, the Yoruba Trickster." Africa 32,4:336-353. Wescott, J. and P. Morton-Williams. 1962. "The Symbolism and Ritual Context of the Yoruba Laba Shango." Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 92,1:23-37 (January/June).

KONGO DRUM, Notes, from page 37 1. Translated from the Italian by the author. The person who made the list (probably the collector himself) has made an obvious mistake in attributing the carving to the Azande. 2. This type of ndungu was also introduced into Latin America by African slaves. F. Ortiz wrote about this instrument in Cuba, where it is called el dungo: "Aged coloured men tell us that the black people in Loango used in Cuba a wheeled drum called dungo or ndungo: it consists of a large and heavy tree-trunk, emptied inside, the lower position of which rests on a board with wheels at both ends, so that it may be drawn around" (vol. 3,1952:408). 3. On the Copenhagen drum stand, the passenger sits with crossed legs on the leather thong-a rather improbable position. 4. Relazione del reame di Congo et delle circonvicine contrade ricavata (as the author warns us) dalli scritti et ragionamenti de Odoardo Lopez Portoghese, published in Rome by Bartolomeo Grassi in 1591 (see De Jonghe 1938 and Filesi 1968). 5. Translated from the Italian by the author. 6. Translated from the Italian by the author. This manuscript, dating from the beginning of the seventeenth century, is a compilation of documents and information on the Congo. The author might be Giovanni Battista Confalonieri, head of the archives of Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. See J. Cuvelier and L. Jadin (1954:8). KONGO DRUM, Bibliography Boone, Olga. 1951. Les Tambours du Congo Belge et du Ruanda Urundi. Annales du Musee du Congo Belge, Sc. de l'Homme,









Ethn., Tervuren. New Series 4. Brasio. A. 1953. Monumenta Missionaria Africana 2. Lisboa: Agencia Geral do Ultramar. Cavazzi, G. A. 1687. Istorica Descrizione de tre regni Congo, Matamba e Angola. Bologna: Giacomo Monti. Cuvelier, J. and L. Jadin. 1954. L'ancien Congo d'apres les Arc- hives Romains 36,2:8. Brussels: Academie Royale de Sc. Col. T. Dapper, 0. 1668. Naukeurige Beschrijvingen der afriakaensche gewesten van Egypten, Barbaryen, Lybien . . . Amsterdam: J. Van Meurs. Dapper, 0. 1686. Description de l'Afrique . . . Amsterdam: Boom and Somerer. de Jonghe, M. E. 1938. "Le Congo au XVI Siecle, Notes sur Lopez-Pigafetta." Institute Royal Col. Belge. Bulletin de Seances 9:33. Brussels. Filesi, T. 1968. "Duarte Lopez ambasciatore del Re del Congo presso Sisto V nel 1588." Africa 23,1:44-84. Laman, K. 1936. Dictionaire kikongo-frantaise. Brussels. Ortiz, F. 1952. "Los instrumentos de la musica afrocubana." Pub- licaciones de la Direccion de Cultura del Ministero de Educacion 3. La Havana. Pigafetta, Filippo. 1591. Relazione del Reame di Congo et delle circonvicine contrade. Rome. Soderberg, B. 1956. Les instruments de musique au Bas Congo et dans les regions avoisinantes. Stockholm: The Ethnographical Mu- seum of Sweden.

MASK CARVER, Notes, from page 69 The research on which this paper is based was carried out in 1972 and 1973 in Sierra Leone as part of a wider study of traditional Sierra Leonean artists. The research was sponsored by the School of Afri- can and Asian Studies, University of Lagos, Nigeria. 1. Today various forms of Bundu or Bondo associations exist in many parts of Sierra Leone and Liberia. The Gola and Mende in Sierra Leone and Liberia call it Sande. The name "Sande" is also used by the Gbande and the Kpelle of Liberia to describe their own versions of it. Among the Mende the name for the artist is sowei hawa m6 and the mask is called sowei. 2. In 1668 Dr. Olfert Dapper recorded the presence of Sande among the Gola in the Upper Guinea Coast (in Umstdndliche und Eigentliche Beschreibung von Afrika Anno 1668, reprinted in Ger- many in 1964). There are also references to Sande among the Mende in George Thompson, Thompson in Africa . . . Mendi Mission, Cleveland, 1852. References to female initiation-societies in the Upper Guinea Coast abound in other early European writings. 3. John Peterson, Province of Freedom: A History of Sierra Leone 1787-1870, Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1969, p. 268. 4. This information is recorded in the official files on the collections of the Sierra Leone Museum, Freetown, 1966. No pagination. 5. Masks of the Gonde or clown dancer vary in size and form and are always intended to be ugly. Initiates of Bundu use the masks to entertain themselves while in seclusion, enacting the mannerisms of ugly and uninitiated girls. SIKILEN MASKS, Notes, from page 64 Research for this paper was completed in affiliation with the African Studies Program, University of Ghana, December 1972-August 1973. 1. The entry number for the National Museum mask is C-4-11. Horned masks of the same style as the la are commonly used in funerary ceremonies of the Ko (Gourounsi subgroup) of Upper Volta (Wallace Pinfold, personal communication 1976). 2. Field photos of the fragmented mask were taken in February 1973. 3. Field notes, February-March 1973. After lengthy negotiations it was decided that a white hen should be sacrificed to the spirit of the mask to offset any offense resulting from my investigation. 4. Two years later I learned from Eugene L. Mendonsa, who has investigated Sisala divination, that the wearer of the mask became very ill after this episode; his illness was blamed on my queries about the mask.









Acknowledgments Page 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23 (bottom), 24 (top left & center; right) Photographs: Doran H. Ross 19, 23 (top), 24 (bottom left) Photographs: Herbert M. Cole 25 Photographs: Ghana Ministry of Information 26, 27 (bottom; left & right), 28 (left; top), 29, 46 (right), 47 (right) Photographs: Robert Woolard 27 (top center) Photograph: Susan Einstein 28 (bottom right), 49 Photographs: Larry duPont 30-33, Inside Back Cover Photographs: Keith Nicklin 35 Photograph: Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale Archives 38-42 Photographs: Otto Lundbohm 43 (right), 44 (top right), 45 (top left; bottom), 47 (center),

48 (top; bottom right) Photographs: Henry John Drewal 43 (left), 45 (top right), 46 (left & center), 47 (left),48 (bottom left) Photographs: Margaret Drewal 44 (top center) Photograph: Nathaniel Eatman 60 Photographs: John W. Nunley 71 (left) Photograph: Allen Newbourn 73 Photographs: Bob Hanson 74 Photographs: Andre Louis 75 Photographs: Jonas Dovydenas 77 Photographs: Iris Silverman 79 Photographs: Ramiro Fernandez 81 Photographs: Dean-Bradshaw









RARE BOOKS Rare books on the arts of Africa, Oceania, China and Japan, the pre-Columbian Americas; ethnology, history, discovery, ex- ploration and travel. Books bought and sold Book wants searched. Write or call: James Normile/Books, ABAA. 6888 Alta Loma Ter- race, Los Angeles, California 90068. (213) 874-8434. By appointment only.

AKAN GOLDWEIGHTS Bought or exchanged by private collector. Box 97, African Arts, African Studies Center, UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90024.

5. According to Wallace Pinfold, masks of the Ko of Upper Volta are carved by casted blacksmiths. This specialized role of the smiths may exist throughout the Voltaic area; in fact, the sikilen masks might also have been carved by such smiths. This would explain why the Sisala (who do not have casted smiths) cannot carve new masks. 6. Bruce T. Grindal, written correspondence, 1976. It is unfortunate that Grindal's original print and negative cannot be located. The dancer who appears in the photograph now has the only available copy. 7. This is also the Bobo pattern for masquerades honoring the death of blacksmiths (Rene A. Bravmann, personal communication). 8. The reports that the sikilen was once used to combat anti-social behavior recalls the function of Gbain anti-witchcraft masks that Rene Bravmann has described in west central Ghana (1974:119). SIKILEN MASKS, Bibliography Bravmann, Rene A. 1974. Islam and Tribal Art in West Africa. London: Cambridge University Press. Grindal, Bruce Theodore. 1969. Education and Culture Change Among the Sisala of Northern Ghana. Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University. Mendonsa, Eugene L. 1974. Divination Among the Sisala of North- ern Ghana. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Cambridge. Nunley, John W. 1976. Sisala Sculpture of Northern Ghana. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Washington. Ottenberg, Simon. 1975. Masked Rituals of Afikpo. Seattle: Univer- sity of Washington Press. Rattray, R. S. 1932. The Tribes of the Ashanti Hinterland, vol. 2. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. Thompson, Robert Farris. 1974. African Art and Motion: Icon and Act. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

DOGON ICONOGRAPHY, Notes, from page 57 I am indebted to Floyd Coleman, an authority on Afro-American art, for directing my attention to the Dogon and for many suggestions and insights relative to their art. 1. This essay by Griaule and Dieterlen is a highly condensed exposi- tion of essential Dogon beliefs. For the sake of convenience and because it gives a simplified yet authoritative view, I have relied on it for citation here. For more comprehensive treatments see Marcel Griaule's Dieu d'eau: entretiens avec Ogotemmeli, a record of conversations with a Dogon blind man who was a diviner, and his L'Afrique Noire. 2. For example, the wife of a male child's maternal uncle is addres- sed by the child as his wife, and the nephew can take all sorts of liberties with her, up to and including sexual intercourse. 3. See Marcel Griaule (1948: 66) and Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen (1951 passim) for a more detailed discussion of this aspect of Dogon thought. 4. The view that men are by nature active and women passive has its origins, surely, in the biological facts of ordinary mammalian coitus. Most human societies have, of course, extended the mechanical characteristics of lower animal behavior far beyond nature's model. For example, although male lions fight one another for mates and can overpower most of the females, what they do mostly is lie around, roar, and eat. The lionesses are the hunters of the pride; the boys roar to frighten game toward the ladies. DOGON ICONOGRAPHY, Bibliography Fernandez, James. 1966. "Principles of Opposition and Vitality in Fang Aesthetics." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 25,1:59. Griaule, Marcel. 1947. L'Afrique Noire, Paris. Griaule, Marcel. 1948. Dieu d'eau: entretiens avec Ogotemmeli, Paris. Griaule, Marcel and Germaine Dieterlen. 1951. Signes graphiques soudanais, Paris. Griaule, Marcel and Germaine Dieterlen. 1954. "The Dogon." African Worlds, ed. Daryll Forde, Oxford. Guillaume, Paul and Thomas Munro. 1926. Primitive Negro Sculpture, New York. Pasztory, Esther. 1970. "Hieratic Composition in West African Art." The Art Bulletin 52,3:305. Steefel, Lawrence D. Jr. 1975. "A Neglected Shadow in Poussin's Et in Arcadia Ego." The Art Bulletin 57,1:99-101.

















OPPOSITE PAGE: ANANG-IBIBIO FUNERARY SHRINE ERECTED IN THE MEMORY OF A TRADITIONAL CHIEF. THE SHRINE IS DECORATED WITH A CLOTH MADE BY AN APPLIQUE TECHNIQUE: IN FRONT IS A RACK BEARING BONES FROM THE BEASTS SACRIFICED AT THE SECOND BURIAL CEREMONY WHEN THE SHRINE WAS ERECTED.





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author(s): margaret thompson drewal source: african arts...

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