Ancient+Art

**Yoruba Art: Tangible Representations of the Spirit World **  By Allie Sheldon  The way the Yoruba view the tangible and spiritual world has been expressed in their written, spoken, and visual art for centuries. The Yoruba people have one of the oldest and finest artistic traditions in Africa. Most of the archaeological artifacts come from two sites excavated in the 1960s, Oyo and Ife. [5] Although evidence of complexity can be found as early as 800 B.C.E. Yoruba sculptors had developed a refined and stylized artistic style by 1100 C.E. which is why this paper will concern itself with art made around that time and later. It is difficult to get an exact date on much of the ancient Yoruba artwork because many common mediums, specifically iron and stone cannot be directly dated. Further dating problems arise because archaeologists have not recovered many art objects at the main excavation sites, Oyo and Ife. This is because the Yoruba traditionally have used this artwork continuously over centuries before discarding them. Some artifacts are even in use today for ceremonial and religious purposes. [6] This also makes stratagraphic dating of these materials nearly impossible. Many artifacts have been relatively dated recently based on the artistic style and materials used, although it remains difficult to track the evolution of Yoruba artwork over the centuries since much of the modern artwork used for spiritual purposes mirrors the style used by early Yoruba artists. Archaeologists and art historians have defined seven distinct artistic periods based on materials and style: [1]


 * **Period ** || **Dates ** || **Artistic Style ** ||
 * Archaic Era || Before 800 C.E. || Minimalist stonework combined with iron ||
 * Pre-Pavement Era || 800 C.E. – 1000 C.E. || Stylized stone and terracotta pieces ||
 * Early Pavement Era || 1000 C.E. – 1200 C. E. || Elaborate pavements, naturalist terracotta and metal objects ||
 * Late Pavement Era || 1200 C.E. – 1400 C.E. || Expressive naturalism, freer style ||
 * Post-Pavement Era || 1400 C.E. – 1600? C.E. || Increasing stylization ||
 * Stylized Humanism Era || 1600? C.E. – present || Modern styles ||

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; msobidifontfamily: ArialmsoBidiFontFamily;">The Yoruba spirit world consists of two distinct parts: **//Orun//**, the world of invisible forces such as //orisa// (gods), //ara orun// (ancestors), and //oro//, //iwin//, //ajogun//, and //egbe// (spirits) and **//Aye//**, the world of the living. All things, living and spiritual possess //Asa// (life force). The balance between //Orun// and //Aye// and overarching influence of //Asa// is often seen in pottery and various carvings. Nearly eighty percent of artwork found at Ife was made for religious purposes. [2] See: Religion page on this website for more information. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orun: //**<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The World of Invisible Forces ** //<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orun // <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is home to //Olodumare//, the creator who is seen as removed from daily happenings in both //Orun// and //Aye//. The other spirits living in //Orun// are responsible for overseeing the day to day affairs in //Aye//. They typically enter the world through diviners who have been specially trained and prepared to serve as the medium for a spirit. Diviners use special carved trays, discussed below. Aye is always under the influence of the spirits who inhabit //Orun//. A common Yoruba proverb emphasized the importance of //Orun// in everyday life saying, "//Aye l'ajo, orun n'ile//" ("The world is a journey, the otherworld is home"). Life should be spent in the pursuit of //ogbon// (wisdom), //imo// (knowledge), and //oye// (understanding) through which long life, happiness, peace, and prosperity may be achieved for yourself and your lineage. Yoruba artwork reflects these goals, often portraying people an animals associated with the different characteristics. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**//<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Asa //****<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">: Life Force ** //<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Olodumare // <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">gave //asa// to everything as it was being created. Everything has a unique //asa// which controls its personality, success, and influence over other things and over the world itself. Every //asa// has the potential for achievement and success; however since no one’s //asa// can be perfectly known, people must demonstrate //eso// (caution), //suuru// (patience), //owo// (respect), and //ifarabale// (composure). Because one's //asa// can ever be fully known and understood, no //asa// is seen as better as or worse than another, simply as serving a different purpose. //Asa// is a major concern of artists, wanting to ensure the //asa// contained in their finished products contains the attributes considered positive in the Yoruba culture. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Specific aspects of the Yoruba world view are also represented in artwork. For example, the snail, chameleon, and chicken appear repeatedly in early artwork. These animals play important roles in the Yoruba creation myth and therefore are recurrent in artwork; again stressing the important influence spirituality has on the artistic styles of early Yoruba. For example, one version of the Yoruba creation myth describes how the world was flooded with water so Oduduwa journeyed to //Aye// with a snail shell filled with earth, and chicken, and a chameleon. The chicken helped spread the earth over the water, creating land and the chameleon walked over the newly created land to test its durability. Once the animals had finished their work, the other gods came down from //Orun// to establish the great Yoruba kingdoms throughout the land. [2. 3]
 * //<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
 * //<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Aye: //****<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> The World of the Living **

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The materials used by the Yoruba artists is very significant; each material is associated with a specific deity and has its own unique //asa// that would subsequently be transmitted into the final piece of artwork that was made from that material. For example, the god Obatala molded humans from clay when the world was being created so the asas of clay objects should present similar characteristics to Obatala. Ogun is the god of iron and Oramfe is the god of thunder and said to throw stones. Some scholars believe that because the presence and importance of these gods in historical myths evolved over time, this shows the changing importance of each material throughout history. As technologies increased, folklore reflected those changes by emphasizing certain gods, like the god of iron, over other gods like the god of stone or pottery. Some artifacts have been found made from a combination of stone and iron, suggesting to archaeologists that these were made during the transition from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. The staff pictured to the right is an example of artwork that combines two materials, in this case stone and metal. Another example of "transitional" artwork is a stone sculpture of a mudfish where iron nails have been inserted to represent its eyes and nostrils. [5] <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shrines were an important aspect of Yoruba life and remain important ceremonially today. Kenneth Murray documented 120 shrines at Ife alone during his excavations in 1943 and 1948. These shrines varied in complexity, some containing nothing more than an overturned terracotta pot while others were mud structures containing elaborate terracotta vessels and terracotta or wooden figurines of the gods inside. Artists once again played an extremely important role in the spiritual life of the Yoruba and vice versa. These art objects were often left in the open during non-spiritual times and sometimes became overgrown with plants. Only during special festivals was the brush cleared and the figurines protected with palm fronds. Today, many shrines contain remnants from pottery that is centuries old. Modern Yoruba people place Olumeye who represents honor and is the messenger of the spirits. The bowl she is holding represents a chicken, an animal that plays an important role in the Yoruba creation myth and is commonly sacraficed during traditional ceremonies. [8]

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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The complimentary concepts of Aye and Orun are typically potrayed in carved gourds and divination trays.
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This carved calabash is a fine example of how Yoruba world views can be represented in artwork. The top of the vessel represents //Orun//, where the sprits, gods, and ancestors live while the bottom piece represents //Aye// where humans and animals live. Both pieces fit together perfectly and tightly, tangibly representing how //Orun// and //Aye// are perfectly balanced and inseparable in life. The images on the vessel are seemingly random, unrelated, and interchangeable. Although each image fits neatly in place amongst the others, it could be moved to any other place on the vessel and the meaning of the image as a whole would remain the same. This represents the Yoruba world view. Each part of the world, plants, animals, humans, and spirits, has its own unique //asa//, and therefore has its own purpose and place in either //Orun// or //Aye//. Although everything in the world fits together into a neat picture, each person, object, or god's place in the world is not fixed. Everything is able to participate effectively in the world no matter where they are located. [3] A calabash is a type of gourd that when hollowed out and dried serves many purposes in West Africa. Calabashes are used for food storage and service, as musical instruments, and have even been worn as makeshift motorcycle helmets in modern times. [4]

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Divination Trays were frequently used by ancient Yoruba priests whose job it was to open the channels of communication between the living and the spirits. The diviner would carve lines into the middle of the tray at the beginning of each session, representing the crossroads between the cosmic realms. Once the divination was finished and the individual or group who had commissioned the divination had received the necessary information, the tray contained many intersecting lines, usually drawn in groups of three, a symbolically important number in Yoruba religion.

This divination tray was found at Allada in the early seventeenth century. The artist's style suggests he was familiar with the ancient artistic styles of the Yoruba culture. The carvings purposefully encircle a flat area in the middle of the tray which represents //Orun// and //Aye//, much like the calabash vessel above. The circular carvings as well as those on the parameter of the tray depict a combination of meaningful people, events, and places alongside ordinary thoughts and concerns of the Yoruba people. Those involving or relating to //Orun// are located at the top of the tray while //Aya//-related images are on the bottom. [2, 5]

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Yoruba Artwork and Religion Today
Although some artifacts from early Yoruba are still used in rituals and ceremonies by the modern Yoruba people, the two societies are not mirror images of each other. The ceremonies and practices in place today are most likely very different from those in ancient times. Although the Yoruba world view has retained much of the important core details throughout history, it has also evolved. Some archaeologists suggest that this is because the first artists were working mainly with non-biodegradable materials. Because the vessels, divination plates, and figurines have survived many centuries, subsequent artists were not needed to replace these objects, therefore allowing for some of the spirituality and ceremony surrounding the creation of these important artifacts to be lost. [5] <span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: Georgia, serif; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; msobidilanguage: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">

Yoruba artists have long been inspired by their worldview when creating their artwork. Much of the art made by Yoruba artists is used for ceremonial purposes. Serving vessels for offerings, figurines placed in a shrine, divination trays used to communicate with the gods and ancestors, or masks still used in ceremonies today. Because each medium with which an artist worked was associated with a different deity and had its own //asa//, the artist had to be conscious of that when making his final product. The influence of the Yoruba worldview can be most clearly seen through carved calabash vessels and divination trays, each portraying //Orun// and //Aye// in perfect balance.

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">References: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;">
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Akinjobin, I. (1992). The Cradle of a Race: Ife from the Beginning to 1980. Harcort, PA: Sunray Publications. p. 3-10, 62-75. 2. Drewal, H. & Mason, J. (1998). Beads Body and Soul: Art and LIght in the Yoruba Universe. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. p. 20, 35-8. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 3. Drewal, H. (1998) Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought. p.13-17, 45-55. 4. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drewal, H., Houlberg, M., Jewsiewecki, B., & Noell, A. (2008) Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. p. 14, 43-6. 5. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fagg, William. (1962). Ancient Ife: An Ethnographical Summary. Actes du IVe Congrès Panafricain de Préhistoire et de l'Étude du Quarternaire. 2(40). 357, 359-67. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 6. Ogunremi, D. (1998) Culture and Society in Yorubaland. Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria: Rex Charles Publucation. p. 1-3, 16.

7. Shillington, K. (2005) Art and Architecture. In // Encycolpedia of African History //. (Vol 1, A-G, p. 63-7, 109-13). Detroit, MI: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Inc. p. 671-77. 8. Thompson, R. (1974) African Art in Motion. Berkeley: University of California Press. 136-42.