Forged-iron figurative sculpture is not common in Africa, but Yoruba
blacksmiths pound, weld, and cast several types of very elegant
standards, such as
those carried by Ifa cult priests, those planted in the ground at the
shrines of
Osanyin
herbalists, and those pounded from hoes into a sword-like staff
for the
deity of agriculture, Oko. These are the same artisans who produce the
everyday
tools of the leatherworkers, woodcarvers, and farmers. Some of these
men also
know how to do ornamental and ritual brass casting using the
"lost-wax" process.
Most of this casting work is done on commission for the Ogboni (or
Osugbo)
society. This is a secret society comprised of elders dedicated to
maintaining law
and order in a community. The society worships the Earth and values the
incorruptible quality of brass. It is famous for its twin ritual brasses
(edan) joined
from the head by a metal chain. Some of the stylistic abstraction of
cast-metal art
can be attributed to differences in media and technique. Some may be due to
the
abstract character of the Ogboni society's subject of veneration - Earth
itself.
Regional variation in style may also be involved. Until late in the
last century,
the Ogboni cult was a southern forest phenomenon, while wood carving has
long
been practiced throughout Nigeria. Yet both woodcarvers and
brasscasters depict
the figure in basically the same manner: frontal, expressionless, and
with great
attention to meaningful detail, especially around the head.
Occasionally, the caster will create items for other cults. The covered
brass bowl
with four figures in the Meyer Collection may be either an
Ogboni-related
medicine bowl or a container for an Ifa diviners sacred
palm nuts.
At least one important divination verse compares Ifa to brass, stating
"White ants
never devour brass, worms do not eat lead. I (Ifa) am humble, hence I
have
become a god." Secular or cult prestige staffs were sometimes
commissioned by
chiefs or important dignitaries. As public staffs of office or chief's
messenger
staffs, they incorporate symbols of leadership and are sometimes heavily
ornamented with figures. The worship of the god of iron, Ogun, also
requires
certain brass-cast objects. Anyone who uses iron in any form should
honor the
god of iron. Of course, most occupations and institutions use iron, so
the symbol
of Ogun is widely mingled with images of most other deities. Even the
woodcarver will carefully maintain a shrine to Ogun and make offerings
there
before felling a tree or beginning a new work. Like the Opa Osanyin herbalist,
whose metal staff with birds is shown above,
the blacksmiths use
staffs (iwana
Ogun) and swords with open-work and incised patterns (ada Ogun) to
define
status in their trade, to advertise a mastery of their craft, and to
ornament shrines
to Ogun. The senior blacksmith's staff is in the form of
an iron
poker with a figurative cast-brass handle. At the top of the poker
sits a titled
Ogun devotee, dressed militantly, holding weapons, and wearing the
insignia of
his office - an openwork headdress, bandoleers of medicines, charms, and
beads.
Last updated 29 March 1995.