University of Nigeria

Research Publications MOHAMMED, Kabir J.

PG/MFA/88/6983 Author Author

Title Art And Festivals In IgalaLand

Arts Faculty Faculty

Fine And Applied Art Department Department

Date Date October, 1990

Signature Signature

TITLE PAGE

ART AND FESTIVALS IN IGALA LAND

submitted to the Department of ~ineand ~ppliedArts Universityof Nigeria NsWa in Partial f dilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Fine Arts (visual communication Cscign and PhotographyS. CERTIFICATION

Mohammed Kabir Jumare a Postgraduate student in the

Department of ~ineand Applied Arts and with the ~t?giStration

Number PG/~~A/88/6983has satisfactorily completed the requirements for course and research work for the degree of

Master of Fine Rrts in visual communication Design and

Photography. he work embodied in this thesis/dissertation/

project report is original and has not been submitted in part or whole for any other diploma or degree of this or any other .. University, &I ir) + '9 .*I ," 't - iii

APPROVAL- PAGE

THIS THESIS HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FINE AND APPLIED ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

------EXTERNAL EXAMINER MF C.V. kMAEFUNlrH DRo L,To BET\ITU

<------...... HE& OF DEPkR!TPiENT DEAN OF THE FACULTY DR. '.Cm ANIIiKOR DEDICATION

To ad and Mom,

MAryam and the children. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project would not have been written without any dependence on interviews and literature reviews. AS this is the first research on ~rtand festivals in Igalaland, and interviews were the main sources of information, I am grateful to all that were interviewed and more especially the ~ttaof Igala - His Royal Highness Alhaji

A~~YUObaje, the Achadu of Igala chief Achema, Mr. Tun Miachi, and a host of others who made valuable contributions to make this research a reality,

# he photographs and illustrations used in this project were taken, developed and printed by the researcher. I am also grateful to the authors whose books, journals, handouts, intelligence reports and theses have been very helpful in making the research a reality, without which the project would have been baseless. special thanks go to God and m$ supervisor, Mr, Vo C. ~maefunah, of whom, without their direction this project will be meaningless. I also have to thank IE 0, oloidi, No Udosen and all the staff of the

Department of Fine and Applied ~rts,University of Nigeria, Nsukka,

Federal Polytechnic Idah (Library Department), Mr, Okoli

(a retired ducat ion 0ffiCer)j who in one way or the other contributed to the success of this project,

Mo KO mare

1990, PREFACE

In studying the origins of the artistic tradition of some African cultures one is bound to become interested in the traditional festivals oi the Igala people. Igala mt and feotitrals has not been very well documented as was the case of the Tiv their neighbows. Scholars like

John S. Boston,- ust tin shelton, R.G, Armstrong and Francois Nyet wrote about some aspects of Igala culture, but failed to dig deep into the visual arts most especially the artistic components that exist in the traditional festivals-

The Igala in their own way, manifest in their various visuaf arts an originality that in many cases is still ignored. In order to better understand their artistic inspiration, one should turn towards the historj and origin of their artistic traditions, which are often complex with numerous influential factors, Some of which are socio-political and to a greater extent economic due to the location of the area. The study of the Igala festivals is better approached from the artistic tradition of the people, This is necessary in that the art components in the festivals cannot divorce themselves from the socio-religious life of the people. The masking tradition and the role of che art works in the festivals have been looked into, being part of their culture, This study is geared towards documentation of the most significant festivals in Igala land and the mt that is involved in those festivals,

This will help in creating an awareness of the artistic treasures of the Igala, the relationship between the sacred ritual art end the -~'f religious practices of the people, This presentation may be a good reference material for further investigation into the wt of the Igala pec

M~ K. Jmare -WLE OF CONTENTS

'KWE PAGE: ...... CERTIFICATION a ...... APPROVALPAGEt o.0 00. .q. DEDIC~!KONI ..- 0. e om XKNOVLEDGBIENTa ...... PREFW; ...... TkRwOFCONTENTS1 r 0. LIST OF PLATES* ...... LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSI so. so THESIS ABSTRACT3 0.0 m. MAP OF IGWWDk w.....

CWTER ONE: Literature Review: ...... 1 MethodoloQy! .....O...... ~3 Statemerit of Problem! ...... 6 Objective of the Study! ...... y Significance of Studyr ...... -93 b History of the Peaple; ...... 9 CHAPTER TWO: SOME NOTABLE FESTIVAbS IN IGALA T.AND

Qwu Festival: ..,...... ~~~'13 Ocho Festival: ...... ~...~~~~14 Oganyiganyi Festival 8. ~..~...~~~~~~16 Egbe Festival: ...... ~..18 Okwula Festival:...... 20 Egonye Festivals ...... 21 ,

CHAPTER THREE: MASKS AND MASQUERADES Masks.: ...... *~23 The Masquerades: ...... ~. 31 @ viii

-PAGE

CHAPTER FOUR:

CHkNLTERI STICS OF THE ART FORMS 0 ,. ,, IT AFFECTS DRESS, HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS 45 AND IMPLEMENTS :

CHAPTER FIVE: Y b iiS ART ELEMENTS SYMBOLIC FORCE OR 57 CONCEPTUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FESTIVALS, b

----CHAPTER SIX: THE

CHAPTER SEVEN :

REFERENCES/BIBLIOGR~PHY: ... ,,, 7%

GOVERNMENT PUBLICIiTIONS: ,,. ,., on, LIST OF PLATES

1 A typical Igala mask used during funeral and festival ceremony, om

- A crocodile shaped mask used during Mabolo festival (~gabade):,,. ... aoo ooo

B Orachin costume showing the added appl~quedstars: Om* OoO .,. .a* em.

The Ikeleku Ahuma mask , . l o 0.. A different type of Igala wooden mask used during the festivals baa Om* a.o ... orachin mask head dress ... .

~jubejuailo mask oOO .04

Otegwu mask: OQO .Oo aO0

Egwu Oraqamu pask , ooo ooo

Egwu Anyakatoro mask: .,o .Om .a* a.7m

~kweRoyal masquerade , l r.

Agbanabo masquerade: .a* 40. me* .Om

Inelekpe masquerade: *Om ".. .a. 04.

Epe masquerade: .,, .om ...a orno a.O

Ichawula masquerade: a.O a.p eo. q.0

. L Odumado masquerade: orno o.a era

Ikeleku Ahuma masquerade: . 0. o 0 0. .. .. Obaje Hdeka masquerade: ooo .. . . \ ~gwu~fiamasquerade: ... . . o.o 38 The nine "Okwute melasq staffs: . . 4'J

The "Okwute Ule" ritual staff: om roo 41

ojo Atta; 0000 000 Orno .me a.0 42

An Ucha designed pot: aoo orno o.e eta 44

The three major Igala embroidery stitches: o,, 45

An Igala embroider at work: ,.. .ooo 46

L .) The Asu staff: Ooo moo coo -oeo 51 , DEFlNiTlON OF TERMS

The following operational terms like Egwu (Masquerade)

masking tradition, Iqala mela (the nine Igala royal clans), Iqalogwa (the migrant clans), ~tta(father or the king of Igala) , ~gwu-Atta (the royal masquerades 1, Attaitt~ I < 3 --7 - - 1, ( the descendents of,nth'e-%;k+)-,- E.qwu--Af ia (the ancestral \ I "talkingtt masquerades frpm ~qoru),-Oche (a major Igala ' festival), okwula (a festival of--.~d~ruarea), ~gon&

' (the yam festival at Ibaji), Eqbe (a festival at ~gume), ~ne-Ocho(Ocho festival ground), -Ababi ( a ritual buridl cloth), amulu (ritual cloth), Uqbabo (red and black robes), ainoji (nine tombs of the Eguma chiefs), Okwute *ritual

stzff), Orachin (a sacred tree or mask), Ache ia powercul sacred tree), Okwute mela (nine ritual staffs), Ere-Ane

(a sacred ground or place), Ateebo (the palace priest),

Obaude (a royal shrine), Obi-Igala (four lobed Igala kolanut), uloko ( a sacred birdts feather), aib~(medicine) - __.._^_ monaOnu EqUma (a priest of Egbe festival), -..-a ~chclcua- (little roofs of Onuls tomb) Atakpa a (medicine) or

'bedroom) ~nyi-ebo (ancestral family shr~ne),Ora- - .-.a ggdewu (~gberoyal priest), Ote-egwu (a masquerade),

Okcga (a ritual carv~ng), ~jubcju-ail0 (the Attats royal __uw. insignia), 3 (a ritual staff used by the Atta during

Ocho festival), Aru Kekele (smaller rltual staff), --Onu (beaded chlef are defined wlthin the context of the study, masking tradition is the totallty of the visual -ESU >- ,3araphernalia employed dur~ngthe festivals, Thcsc include the mumasquerades, musical instruments, shrines, signs and symbols involved in the ritual proccsses, furniture, titular objects, These vigual paraphernalia constitute the Igala ~rt,In this study, greater attention is focused on the greatest artistic index representing a cross-section of the entire art forms in the Igala cluster affecting the social and # religious lives of the people, AMual festivals marked by cultural rites, conviviality and masquerading, the Igala ~rtand festival tradition has survived as a living culture whose indigenous traditional features have not been adulterated by contemporaxy developments. + In this study, the researcher probes the aesthetics contents of the Igala cults, their evolving iconography, and the potential of the festivals as a resource for further investigations into tile ~rtof the Igala, It could also serve as a source for conteniporary visual communication designs. , A -.a. TABLE OF C~I&ENV .. -PAGE

\ I %. TITLE PAGE: 00 oo a mop<, o\qAq. 0.0 vro 0-0 .O. i

CERTIFICATTON: lmoo 'oo,o, 0.0 ..o eo. ,.. ii AE'PROVAL PAGE: 0 oo i-.o o ooo ooo . iii

DEDICjlTION: 00. 00 000 0 00 000 OD moo o 0 . iv ACKNOWLEDG~~TI.,. 0 0 0 00.0 0.0 -0 0 v PREFACE: ... 0. ooo oo moo ooo -00 .om 0.. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS: , 0. 0 o 0.0 orno . vii LISTOF PLATES: oo ooo oo .om o 00- 00. ix

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS: 0.0 00 0.0 oor 0.0 000 X

THESIS ABSTRACT: 0.. oooa 00 0.0 -00 0.0 0 xi MAP OF IGRLh LAND: 000 00. 0.0 8.0 00- 0 xii

CHAPTER ONE: I N T R 0 D U C T I 0 N: ... ,,, ... Literature Reviewr . ,.. ..o Methodology: oooo *.. o.o ooo

Statement of Problem: .O. Sam O.O Objective of the Study: ooo o~o Significance of Study: . . oqo History of the People; . ,..

CHAPTER TWD: SOME NOTABLE FE;STIVW;S IN IWkLAND

Egwu Festival: .,. ... .o o.. .ow Ocho Festival, ...... Oganyiganyi Festival:...... Egbe Festival: ,. . .. , ...... Okwula Festival:.. OOOo ... .roe Egonye Festival : .O.O .O. Oo om.

CHkPTER THREE: WKSAND MEiSQUElWDES

Masks: ,,, . . . oo. The Masquerades: . . or. LIST OF PLATES --Plates I(*A typical lgala mask used during funeral and festival ceremony, ... o..

A crocodile shaped mask used durlng Mabolo

festival (~gabade):,~. aoo 000

Orachin costume showing the added

appl~quedstars; moo .Oo QOO me0 am-

The Ikeleku Ahuma mask 000 0..

A different type of Igala wooden mask

used during the festivals 000 0.0

Orachin mask head dress ,.. 00. ooe

~jubejuailo mask ,,, 000 00.

Otegwu mask: oo 0 0 Q moo

Egwu Ora~amumask . .. OQ? e 0 0

Egwu Anyakatoro mask: 0.. OqQ

Ekwe Royal masquerade 0 0 0 *a0

Agbanabo masquerade: 000 00.

Inelekpe masquerade: roo 000

Epe masquerade: 60, 000 0.0

Ichawula masquerade: 00. 0.0

Odumado masquerade: .oo o0 ..O ..a

Ikeleku Ahuma masquerade: . -0 Q 0 l 0

Obaje Adeka masquerade: , ", -00 -0 O Egwu ~f ia masquerade: ,. . , . , 38

The nine Wkwute melavs staffs: ,,, ooo ,. 4C

The "Okwute Ulesl ritual staff: . ame 41 ojo Atta: ,. . o, 0000 000 O.O moo age 42

An Ucha designed pot: aOO 44

The three major Igala embroidery stitches:,,, 45

An Igala embroider at work: ,. , ,, .o, 46

The ASU staff: .,,, .OO coo ,,.. .oo 51 , Scale:

...... , aistrict Bcu~dary . Territorial Boundary

-MAP OF IGit,LR LAND(Showing the Districts and ths Dialectal--- sroups3. CHAPTER ONE --INTRODUCTlON ~iteratureReview: LA- --- In studying the origins of the artistic tradition of

-ame African cultures one 1s bound to bzcome interested

>..I the traditional festivals of the Igala people, Igala

=)rt and festivals has .I ~t been fully documented as wcls the

-.;ise of the Tiv their nelyhbours, Igala festivals arc celebrated annually to enable the living beings commune with

'-hedead ancestors and at the same time maintain ,the cordial

harmony and progress within the ,society, John S. Boston

(1'w120) discussed about the significance of carvings and

otl -7r rltual items in Igala PPthatthe lgala use ..,-ibclcgwu L ...... ar cstral carvings in the Ibaji area, whlle in oth~r2r~;is al'ound Idah staffs known as ---okwute were used if thc ar:c\:stor is titledfPas part of the ritual ltems used during tb- traditional fest~valsin Igala land, He went furthcr to ..;tate that .these cult symbols stand for the conkinuing relationship with the dead and for the qualities and other ." bcn~fits that each person has in&?;l. :. :..c'. 5rom the p~lst*,.

Tom ~iachi(1980: 15) threw more light on the lgala f!:St.5' , that lq,,.in Igala, masquerades are used to drarnatiml: 'the relationship that exists between the world of the dead

on occassions when the ancestors return to earth to commune wlth the living likc during funerals, traditional

.LYWU-- -.. .. festivals, In discussing about Igala festivals there is need to mention the significance of masks b~lrl~~ ttlc most significant ,~rtforms and the most public visual

are produced in order to enable the souls of the dt:~d, or

Lhe protective spirits of the village or socizty 'LO o,l.,icc # thc;ir appear?.ncr- in tangible or visible form, or for ti-ic dramatic representation of mystical a~tlon,~'To~n Mi lchi

(1~80:11) went further to assert that vs,O ,in Iyaln thought, their masks or masquer~desare thelr dcad a~lcestorsappearing to the thcm on spL?c1al occ,:?:; ion:: to interact and communicate wlth themn=

Various deslgn motifs or symbols were found on X2ala art forms especially the rl-tual objects such as inas;:s, t;ic nlasquerades and so on, Boston, JoSo (1980:122) assi!rtcd

that PPO the presence of coiled snakes on the forel-]cad of some Bassa-Nge masks and scu!-ptcrca, a~dConPC -I-"' - square scarifications arc also found on some -Olcccja - -,.-. sculpturesE1depicting the Igbo influence on Igala art. 3 (a Other items like bronze bells were attached to th~

robes of the masquerades and K,Ce Murray (1944:15) threw

aom? light when he stated that st,e.the oval bells worn at

the bottom edge of the Ekwe royal masquerade can bu found

elsewhere, especially at Nsukka and In the shrincs in thc

'dabar regiontt, On the role of the artist in lgalc fzstivals, Francois Nyet (1985: 68) mentloned thdt i:,.ethc

Igala like any typical Afrlcan artlst sees in thc horns of rams and entelopes, the tusks of elephants, the claws

and beaks of blrds and the shells of snails7 a principle # of growth and of the increase of manls lifc force or nat ral poweresl his proves that some art forms such as mas'-s are used as part of the rituals in Igala festivals to deepen the people's virtues in the society, The Igala contact wlth the~rneighbours - the Yoruba, Juk7m7 Bini and Edo, the Igbirra and Nupe has influcnckd th-lr method of production of some art forms used in thc festivals, Douglas Fraser and Cole (1972: 35) conf irincd thi s by asserting that oOSorneresemblances ex~stbehwc?cn the Yoruba masks Gelede and some Igala masksss, K,C*

Murray (1944:23) threw more light when he noted that

P2ee.thestyle of Igala carvlngs were Jukun in origin, !~as?d on Dr, PassargeDsdrawlag of a similar kind of mask which is

called a Jukun dance mask j.n a book titled "hdamana" published in

Beolin in 1895, Tom Miachi (1980:126) went further to assess the

~ilcestralritual staffs of the Igala that they were ".,,carved

!-n the form of masks representing the nL?e rulers of Igala which

i esemble the carved staffs of Ogboni cult and a close look at

l he shapes would prove that -the technique was either of Yoruba or

Benin origin," Chike Dike (:L9??: 98) stated that the royal masqnerade

-.&we holds in his hands a brass staff with two janiform heads, # This skaff serves the Ekwe .to symbolically hit the Atta, confirming

and reinforcing the fact that the Lkwe mask symbolises the rikual

and political authority of the kttaetl This confirms the notion

thar. there are certain symbolic elements which enhances the ritual

anc': visual display in the Igala festivals,

F, ~xyet- Arts of the Eenue- 9-Lannoo Tielt 19e5 i3 elgimi Methodology

The fieldwork for this thesis was based on participant observation metbxl which has become a useful, if not a necessary, method of gathering data and very much puts the researcher in the position to, as it were, see things for himself. Dalton (1959) has shown how participant observation can enable the researcher to seeg note and describe certain latent practices and codes, which I refer to as rlinner circlelc or esoteric knowledge. such knowledge is # crucial as it underlies the essence of the public performances that we see cn the street or in the public arena.

~ffectiveparticipant observation therefore would enable the researcher to have a real life experience, an actual feeling af the situatibn he is studyihg and help him to develop his hypothesis.

The researcher, whether native kr foreign, needs a lot of tact and sensitivity to be accepted aS real insider. his research method gave me the opportunity to participate in the various and notable festivais where I tias dble to observe the tkpes of art forms, the general art experience of the people, the dharacteristics oe the art

'...-ca terms of the& shaws ) design$, symboiic significance, the colours used, how and where they were obtainedm I took a critical view of the art elements as symbolic Zorces in the festivals and as part of the tradition of the people. I also analysed the types of tools used in the production of the art works used in the

festivals ranging from the carving tools to the embroidery tools nsed on the regalia of the masquerades. I participated in some of the rituals involved in the preparations for the festivals to some degree, to enable me assess the type of tools used and part of the methods of production of such tools. Furthermore, I had to stay with some carvers to ascertain the techniques applied, how they conceptualize the ideas, the pigncnts used in colouration of the masks, the patterns or designs used on the masks, and their symbolic significance.

he weavers and tailors who produce the fabrics and appliqued materials for the masquerade regalia were also observed to enable the researcher see the type of yarns used, how the: xere produced, the method of# production in the case of woven materials, the dyeing techniques, how the patterns or designs were made, cut out and sewn on the fabrics and what have you.

I also stayed with the smiths and potters to observe how they embossed the masks, ritual staffs used in the festivals, the method of producing the bells hung on the waists of masquerades among others, The potters! techniques of producing the various ritual pots as well as the ceremonial pots used before and during the festivals were also observed. in ally, I was able to observe the methods of application of the various patterns on the body as part of decoration by the initiates of the masking tradition, the scarifications and the symbolic designs used.

~uringthe field work, I h~,'to force myself to learn the

Igala language to a certain degree to enable me interact with the local people who often loo?^ with suspicion whenever they sight a stranger in their midst, I have got used to their types of food without which one would have found it difficult to mix with the people

and get closer to them to enable him acquire the information he required, In most cases, one has to befriend the youths who serve as guides or intermediaries between the researcher and the elders who in turn seek for financial reward for giving the required informa- tion because of their belief that "the governat sent him (the researcher) to get the information for which he has been paid." STATENE:JrC OF PROBLEM : ------, -

Vario~ls;)rt for 1s and c'eq

of the Igala peoy,:--., Put s:i,icc the :i,lception of Christianity and formal

education, ';??t. u.;e of tfLcse1.:::. forms and design motifs in the life

- f '.he people, si?m to Le ialcinq a downward 'curno Crafts, body

accoration: masks a~dv~c-?-ad,??., th? areas where these motifs were

rtldinly used, are fast b,CT)T?;TIU a khing 02 the past, And those who

apply or still a~pseciatcthim 2r~regarded as conservative,

Bcfore the influence of w-stern culture for instance, it was a

,ommon practict- ~zpeciallyfo-: wcxnm: to c-hawc th2j.r naturai beauty 4 with some form 05 bcdy ddzora5on using the trediticrnal dcsiyn mo-tif$,

khc ' i.i.,~.:-3:zyend cri~~-i.:Icr' -:'> .-::. r ,.r As-cic :-.r,ldi.kions, which are of ten comr ' c x with numerous in+l~lon:A.;l fac'zor:; . ,"?me of which arc socio-

pol 'tical and to a ;)L :L L

art components in the destivals cannot divorce thcmselv-c, from the socio-religious life of the people, The masking tradition and the role of the art works in the festivals have to be looked into, being part of their culture. This study is geared towards documentation of the most significant festivals in Igala land and the Art that is involved in those festivals.

This will help in creating an awareness of the artistic treasures of the Igala, the relationship between the sacred ritual art and

the socio-political practices of the people, This presentation may be # a good reference material for further investigation irito the Art of the

I gal a peopl eo OWECTIVE Q!? THE RESEARCH 7

. various design motiffs existed in the art works depicted in the cultural life of the Igala people most especially their traditional festivi

But since the inception of Christianity and formal education, the use of tl design motifs in the life of the people, seem to be taking downward turn,

Art works and body decorations, the areas where these motifs were mainly used, are fast becoming a thing of the past, And those who apply ar sti: appreciat? them are regarded as either conservative or out of the way.

Before the influence of western culture, it was a common practice especially for women, to enhance their natural beauty with some form of boc decoration using the traditional design motif so The ritual objecb , masks, textiles, masquerades and other festishes were decorated with some motifs that are symbolic to the people, Rut today, the traditional religion is fast dying out along with some ritual objects and the motifs. With the rate at which these symbolic motifs are disappearing from the society, it i feared that in the near future, they may completely disappear and there me not be the right people to give information concerning how they were practiced, his research pra,ject is therefore faced with the following

(i) To present as far as possible, a detailed docmentation of the design

motifs in the Igala festivals and perhaps hw they relate to the life

of the people.

(ii) To find out if there are special design motifs from different groups of people or objects. (iii)To find out if there are motifs which perform special functions - for example, if there are motifs associated with the deities.

(iv) To find out the originality of the art works and the tools used in making them. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The essence of documentation is to perpetuate history, hence this research intends to record the ethno-aesthetic implications of mt in the Igala cultural festivals before they canpletely disappear* Traditional design motifs is an aspect of Igala traditional art which has stimulated a lot of interest to scnne scholars in recent times, very little has been written on m these motifs and other art works among the Igala.

Hence, apart from collecting and analysing the visual design motifs of the people, this work will be an additional contribution to the existing literature and documentary session on Igala mt and their festivals. ~t the end of this research, it is expected that the various designs and motifs found in the

Art of the Igala would have been analysed and put together as a resource of Visual communicationu History of the People:,-

According to local sources the Igala people migrated from the north-eastern part of Africa moving south westwards towards the present day

Sudan and later moved further southwards to the present day Nigeria, crossinq the Savannah region until they reached the Niger-Benue confluence. At that point, some of these migrants decided to take a rest and look around for food to enable them continue their journey.

The other party were left to look after their belongings at their camps,

After a long waiting and guarding, the latter party decided to leave' the camp and continue the journey further south leaving their colleagues behind, assuming that they have been eaten up by wild beasts,

However, some local communities in Igalaland tell the story of their .origin in the form of &$her a clan or a lineage pedigree going back to a founder who is described as a hunter by profession.

Typically in these legends, the founder is said to have come to the locality from elsewhere and to have found it so good for hunting that he decided to remain and make a new home, This great hunter is hyegba Oma Idoko and his hunting camp becomes a permanent settlement in whose affairs the hunter's family ( the present royal clan) play a leading role, and after his death his descendants 1 form the dominant clan or lineage in the area (Igalagwa).

1, Boston, J,S, "The Hunter in Igala Legend of Origin,"

--.-AAfrica Vo1,34, No029 1964, Accordi-ng 50 certain schools of thought, Ayegba was elected the leader of the indigenous group, :=la --, mela by some elders of the clan when, they discovered his str~nghtin medicine and hunting. l'pon his election ;IS th~irleader, he organised an army to rebel against the Jukun overlords which resulted in their freedom from

. he yokes of the Jukun monarci~y, Other schools of thought had it hat oral traditions have linked t.he people to the Yoruba whose # language shares many words and sentences in common with the Igala 2 'mguage, to the Jukun with whom wars of insubordination were fought (for it was the Jukun that exerted some influence on Igala land and the present ruling dynasty in Idah is of Jukun origin', and to the Nupe whose monarchy foundcd hy the cherished Nupe leader

Tsoede or Edegi; to the Bini who according to certain schools of thovght, were said to be the progenitors of the present monarchy, 3 the litta-ate. The Kingdom had also established its influence among the Igbo of northern Nsukka, examples of indigenous 4 colonialism in Africa, --- - 2, imstrong, R,G, "Peoples of the Niger Benue Confluence" --Ethnographic survey of Africa 1955 p-77-90, 3, Shelton, A, Iqho-Iqala ---Borderland: Religion & Social Control in Indigenous African colonialism 1971, p,19-24. 4. Boston, J,S, The Iqala Kin2om- 1963 p-25, According td Bostcn, J,S, the Igala retained no formal knowledge of their history before the seventeenth century5 and Clifford Miles went further to argue that ki3gship was established at Idah by a migration from Wukari, in which the Jukun royal house was involved which resulted in one of the members qat married to an Idoma woman

L'oe ejonu kr.own to he the first Atta of Igala, Clifford maintains that there was no earlier dynasty at Idah, but only a system of , government in which the heads of the indigenous f~miliesor Igala

,qv2laparticipated,,, "there was in those days no form of (government) central organisation, the tribe consisting of a number of moieties each under its own patriach or petty chieftain; these latter, nine in number, werf the primitive fathers of Iqala. Yt

According to Mr. C, Patridge (District Commissioner, Lagos 1908)

"It. confirms Capt, Byng-Hall s extremely interesting account of the

Division of the strangerfs descendants into four branches, who in turr provide an Atta, but his statement that this stranger's el3cst son's family split up into two of these branches is additional,

The version told me was that the first Atta was a woman, Lbbelejjono, but she may have been the Okpoto woman whom the stranger married."' -.I-"*- ---.-l--rr----.------5, Boston, JeSo The Iqala Kinc&om 1963 p-250 -- -. -->. - -. * 6. Notes on Basse Komo Tribe in Igala Division - XLIV, 1944, ~~107,

7, Patridge "A Kte on Iqara Tribe, Journal of African Society. Vo1.8, 1908, Occupation

Owing to the geographical location of the Igala Kingdom, farming, hunting and fishing remain the dominant occupation of the people until reccntly when they took to petty trading md small scale business,

;.s it comes into being each hamlet is given enough farming land by

L'ie chicf (appointed by 'che htta) for its members' needs, together vvlth rights over tree crops in certain areas of secondary forest and woodland. Yam cultivation, which the Igala value highly, combined with large scale ~ultivationof maize, makes the whole operation of planting yams be wmpleted in the dry season, leaving the farmer freq to concentrate on maize and other savannah crops in the relatively short rainy season,

fgalaland being bordered by the river Niger and Benue in the north and west respectively encourage fishing industry which the

Igalas cherish during the rainy season and part of the dry season.

The two rivers provide enough fish for consumption and export to the neighbouring states as a source of revenue. Hunting, which is an inportant activity of the Igala is very well recognised as an occu~ation, The land forms an area that affords almost ideal conditions for a great variety of game to flourish, The animals that are constantly mentioned in Igala leqends include elephant, buffalo/ bush cow9 leopards, antelopes and many others. CHAPTER TWO

---SONS NOTABLEASTIVALS IN IGALALAND In Igalaland, the most notable festivals are six in number, and these are celebrated at different periods before and after the rainy season. The first being the ~gwufestival followed by

Ocho festival, Oganyiganyi festival, Egbe festival, Okule fekival and 1

Egonyi festival, These festivals are celebrated annually to commune with the ancestors the Fbegwu who watch over the destinies of the entire Igala people. Each festival will be treated as an entity so as to give a clear picture of what itb entails. (a) -~gwu --- ~estival --- The word lf~gwuS1in Igala language carries two conceptually related meanings, on the orie hand, it means !masqueradel! and on the other llthe dead'!, connoting the !tancestors,~~In Igala thought, their masquerades are their dead ancestors appearing to them on 13 special bnccassions to interact and communicate with them.

In other words the dead are the masquerades and vice-versa. The

Egwu festival therefore is the celebration in memory of the departed adults of Igala society and since the ancestors are so central in gala religious phenmmenon, the Igala regard the ~gwu festival as the most important of all the annual festival. 14

13. Tom Miachi - Masquerades as agents of social Control among the Igala: A paper presented at the University of London 1980:11

14. Pers, comm: Okpanachi ~nefolaIdah, 1989, The ~gwufestival programme lasts for nine days marked by five days of essential ritual activity and interspersed with four days of eating, drinking and merry-making. The first day on the programme is the most important; this being the day the Atta personally 15 offers sacrifices to the memory of his last '.nine predecessors.

The ceremony consists of immolating nine goats, one each to the spirit of the nine past ~ttas,each represented by an Okwute.

On the second day, the ~ttaoffers morsels of pounded yam, drops of locally brewed beer and kolanuts each to the remembered ~tta. On the third day the blood of the sacrificed animals is poured neatly unto the upper part of each of the ofcwute and prayers are offered accordingly.

On the fourth day, each of the ~ttabeing remembered is invoked by name and requested to look after the welfare *f the present ~tta and his subjects, On the fifth day, the people assemble at --Ere Ane where the Atebo palace priest relays the Attats message to the people on behalf of the ~tta, his is concluded by paying homage to the ~ttaby members of the royal lineage at his palace early in the morning and then retire to their homes to continue the merry making, eating and drinking for the next four days,

(b) Ocho Festival -. --- ~hisis the second most important annual festival in galal land and serves dual functions - a hunting exercise and a dramatization of a hunting culture which is a cardinal activity in the Igala societyo It is so important an activity that it is dramatized yearly to honour the spirits of the brave and courageous ancestors, the antecedents of the Igala Kingdom, The first item in the programme is triggered off when the Atta offers sacrifices to the royal protective cult situated at Obande in a shrine enclosed within the palace walls, which is a powerful spirit that has the attributes of good and evil but which can protect its owner from the harm of other malevolent spirits, ~t the ocho ground, -~ne-Ocho, visiting hunters and the hunters from the vicinity of the Ane 0ch6 are organized in hunting bhnds, led by appointed experienced hunters. The ntta is the leader of the hunting bands and symbolically goes out into an enclosure to return later to the arena with game purportedly killed in a hunt.

The war dress that the ~ttaputs on also points to the military dimension of the ocho festival. part from the clothing and medicine P wrapped up in various styles that the Atta puts on, he also holds a spear and an iron staff -Aru decorated zoomorphically, mainly with wild carnivorous animals, depicting strength and .dpro..r2ss as ability to kill the enemy successfully. One of the major events on the -ocho programme is the search of the royal masquerades, In this activity, the masquerades are each kept at hiding places and search parties go out to find them in their hierarchical turn. The first being -Obaje -Adeka whose duty during the -Ocho festival is to rid the land of all witches and all malevolent spirits before the commencement of the festival, The next masquerade tq be found is usually -Ekwe, the premier masquerade of the Igala, followed by the others in line of seniority.

Each of these masquerades goes to pay homage to the Atta, but before then, each is obliged to go first to -~kwe to pay him homage and offatory dues in the form of four kolanuts, -Obi-Igala (four-lobed), required before they can participate in the Ocho festival.

he use of masquerades in the Ocho festival is suggestive of the presence of the ancestors durinq the festival. ~lso,the masquerades have the power and ability to see and deal with evil spirits that may be on the way, For example, -~kwebeats the ~tta with his power charged cane to symbolically imbue him with the potency of the ancestors and serve as an additional protective 16 measure against malevolent spirits.

(c) Oganyiganyi- Festival-- This is another annual festival celebrated at ~nkpa in honour of the victory of the first onu of ~nkpa's victory over the reactionary forces in the area in the 17th Century, The festival is celebrated before the month of id-el-Maulud (a moslem festival) after consultation with the oracles by the priest,

~fterconsultations of the oracles by the priest, the announcement of the festival follows and later on, the menfolk drawn from the

Clans to form the masquerade group assemble at midnight for ritual cleanselling at the outskirts of the tom. The cleahsening ritual

6 Pers, Comrn: chief ~chema (Achadu of Igala), Idah, 1989. include ritual bath, decorating the body with coloured pigments, white chalk produced locally, before wearing the masquerade regalia,

his exercise lasts till the early wrs of the morning. The masquerade regalia include pieces of cloth strips of various colours tied round the waist beneath which are raffia waist bands tied on top of the skirts, ~lso,charms Tn form of arm bands tied round the arms and buffalo horns decorated in various colours are held by the masquerades, bells made by local smiths are tied round the waist to produce sound that invoke the ancestral splrits # as the masquerade moves.

on sighting the masquerades, the musicians, armed with gongs, flutes, horns and drums set on to play the instruments amidst songs and praises until the masquerades arrive at the town square,

The musicians are dressed in red, blue and white that is, the males wear trousers made of blue fabric, white shirts or jumpers, while the female singers wee red skirts on white blouses. The singing and playing of the musical instruments continue while the masquerades display the swing dance for sometime while food is served to the elders at EGe Aneo This lasts for some hours before they move to the various sections of the town to perform,

Finally, they return to the town square to perform again while the women dressed in long flowing gowns and caps to match, move in ,..woces~ion trjwards the Onu's palace,

In the evening, the oganyiganyi masquerades move towards the palace to perform the swing dance while the women dressed in gowns march round the Onuqs palace seven times reciting

prayers, incantations and invoking the ancestral spirits for blessings to the land and the people, After the prayers, the masquerades and the women dance and sing for hours infront of the palace as a symbol of respect for the Onu.

Finally, the Onu addresses the entire people in the town and give some words of advice to all and sundry which marks the end of the festival for that year,

(dl -----Egbe ~estival P The ~gbefestival at Egume is regarded as sacred and was treated with a little bit of secrecy and is still What it is today because it was believed that the dead or spirits of the dead were seen openly at night, The reason being that the ceremony is celebrated in memory of the dead Onu meaning that it is a burial festival,

Egbe festival is announced when the Onu of EgUm joins his

ancestors and another person is appointed to take charge of the

affairs of the town, Five days to the time of the festival the

corpse is carried from the palace and smoked (to cleanse the 17 subjects) before being placed in the grave. on the festive day, a horse, depending on how rich the king was, is sacrificed to the ancestors, Goats are to be brought and offered as sacrifice.

It should be noted that there are usually selected people who dig the grave, Amadiora Onu EgWe, and also make designs for the coffin,

17, pers. comm: onu of Egume (Ankpa LGA) , --Jan, 1990. On the day the Onu is to be buried, some four very strong and long locust bean trees are usually placed on the floor of the grclve (this time the real grave is used). hen the coffin, -oko, is placd nn them before the grave is levelled up. T~entyfour other akpa locust bean roofs are used for the roofing of the w- ---Achekwu little roofs above the tomb, Nine virgin girls are selected from the community to carry the nine long robes ---abahi to the festival ground, Each --abahb represents the ritual burial materials for all chiefs including the dead chief -Onu that w@s buried, he --abahis consist of a mixture of red Ugbabo and black robes, --amulu, folded in a dumb form and kept in a calabash, ~hereare nine tombs, ojinoji, representing the past nine rulers or chiefs Onus, AS soon as a chief dies, one of the graves P older than the first is levelled up for the number not to be 18 more than nine,

he animals killed for the ritual burial are cooked together with some parts of the meat and they are distributed among the nine graves,

From the Egbe shrine, nine virgin girls selected from the community who usually stand in a row while the Ora Ogelewu priest lift the nine long robcs abaBis and place them on their heads for the journey back home from the Egbe ground, The chief priest stands infront of the abai and leads the way home, P making sure that all those who attend the festival have been informed . not to look back, The virgin girls carrying the --abdlis are usually the last to leave the ~gbeground and the journey back home usually

takes four to five hours because people are expected to walk

slowly.

The Ora Ogdewu will on reaching the palace of the incumbent onu, -my- - come round again to bring down the abahis from the heads of the

virgin girls and keep them at the secret shrine in the palace. # ~llthe honour given to the departed Onus are normally given to 7

the abahis since they stand for the dcparted chiefs, --=--

(el Okwula ~estival -- --,-*-- ThS-s festival is a time set to celebrate the communion between

lineage members, their consanguineal and affinial kins as well

as friends and the dead members of the lineage. ~t is also the time

of serious business with members when their dead, known or unknown

to the living, good or bad, are reviewed by the talking masquerades 19 .-~gwu Afia. On this day, offerings of cocks are made collectively and individually followed by a communal meal in which all the men

of the community, cdlectcd agnatic relatives and friends take part, In the evening of the --Okwula festival, the Egwu Afia masquerade representing the dead ancestors are brought out from the grove and

in procession to the Atakpa of the founder of the community or the most seriLor of the lineage -Ogijo-olopu in order of seniority with the most senior of the masq~eradesfollowing behind. he masquerades spend one or more nights at the htakpa of the founder of the community and speak to the members of the group through the -Egwu --Afia masquerades of the founder or his son before disappearing for another year, marking the end of the festival,

(f) -Egonyi Festival.- This festival is celebrated annually after the harvest, being * one of the significant festivals in Igalaland and a major festival in the southern Igala district of Ibaji, The festival is celebrated to appease the eLxthgoddess -Ane for plentiful harvest, good yields etc,

On consulting the oracles and performing the required ritual sacrifices by the priest, other clan elders follow suit, starting with the first yam tubers dug from the farm. ~fterthe ritual offerings, the elders select the age group that will perform the masquerade rites for that year. On selection, the members leave for the grove where they perform the masking rituals. hen the briefing for the masquerade display follows before the priest brings out the clotheJ material containing the masquerade from the shrine,

The masquerade (which is the clothed material) is carried in a bamboo made stretcher amidst songs, music and dance from the grove to the market square via -Onufs palace. Gongs are beaten and bqboo made flutes are blown to inform other clan members

of the arrival of the masquerade, ~ppearingin various attires,

the people move towards the market square for the festival display, e The members of the masking tradition then continue playing

music, singi~gand reciting invokation, praising the ancestors

before the stretcher is laid down on the ground, hen the clothed

material is brought out of the stiotcher and kept on the ground

after which the two ends of the cloth swell up and clap themselves

# in mid air,

ina ally, the left flank of the cloth descends downwards and touches

the ground while the right flank moves like a snake upwards in the

air to height of about thirty feet. he masquerade display

and festivities continue until sunset when the masquerade

shrinks back to its former shape and position to be carried and

kept or laid down in the stretcher for the journey back to the

shrine where it is kept until the next festival, 23 CWTER THREE

MASKS AND MASQUEIiADES

Masks are the most signizicant art forms in all the Igala festivals

and the most public of the visual arts not only in Igala Kingdm, but . , also in all similar traditional festivals in Black Africa, These masks vary in shapes and forms. They could be carved in abstract or realistic

shapes, cylindrical or elongated. Some have horns er objects carved on

them in fonn of tiered objects, Examples of sqne types of masks used . Y in the fee;tivals are shown in plates 1 a1 D

Plate 'late (

The masks take many forms or geometric types, which are emically

labelled, Generic type differences are displayed in the formal attributes rD of the carved mask, the cut of the costume, th

embroidery and in the assessories attached to the masquerade, The masks , . are carved wooden masks, commissioned when the costume is first assembled and are seldom replaced unless damaged, The cloth of the costme is more flexible, It may be changed, altered, or added to each individual aesthetic

and iconographic expression in costuming (See Plate d). The ~Mthis living by enclosing it in a way of tfing the spirit of the masquerade, to the cultural world of the L man-made cage of fabric. The costume in its many forms conceals the unknowable and yet reveals men's infinite potentials for spiritual transformation, flh

plate2 : -machin costume showing the added appliqued Stars.

The panels that flank the netting tied below the masks through which the masquerader looks is given special attention. The broad strips and the additional decorative panel behw the nekting are elaborately appliqued or beaded with cowries or cloth pieces as shown in Plate 3 . Beaded embroidered panels are considered to be particularly effective because they signify the ritual importance of the masquerader, some masquerades hold carved objects in form of statues, sticks or staffs that have some resemblance of human or animal shapes. ~lso,the masquerades wear cloaks (i,e. Ekwe) on which are stitched pieces of cloth of various shapes, bells and charms.

Some masks are made of embossed or engraved pieces of metal sheet (i. e Ikeleku ~huma),some with red seeds stuck on them while others

have feathers stuck on the wooden helmet shape.

Plate 3: The Ikeleku ~lumamask, Note the appliqued panels and the cowries,

The gold plaited mask worn by the ~ttaof Igala which was given to him in the 16th Century by the then Oba of Benin is another art work that contributes to the festival display . The brass staffs made by the smiths on which are carved various forms, shapes both realistic and abstract are equally used during the festivals (i.eo Od: and Egwu festivals), he gongs, arrows, spears, dane guns, knives and matchets of various designs are also usedo ~heseworks of art display the immaculate beauty and creativity of the Igala smiths which could have been adopted either from ~feor eni in or perhaps their Nupe neighbows. Symbols of supernatural power such as stone celts and medicine containers may be carved onto or attached to the mask to emphasize the power of the mask (See Plate 4). In others the eyes bulge outward, the cheeks may be puffed at, and the hair is curved in one tier with little indication of textwe*

Plate+: Orachin mask head dress. Note the medicine container on the forehead. The Ejubeju ailo mask resembling the festac ivory mask, has a net-like covering on the head while the hair was decorated with short parallel pieces of rods arfanged side by side in rows up to the forehead, Large bulbous eyes supported by thin lashes and a broad nose while the lips protrude to give a kind of balance to the base of the nose is one of its characteristics, Below the chin are series of coil-like pattern that extend to the end of the jaw bone below the ear lobes, The ears on either side were well carved and shaped to give it a natural look, It is the mask Worn by the Atta of I Sala .during the festivals which appears to have been designed to be worn on the face, for there are slits below the eyes so that the wearer could see out, In fact, this and the Obalufon mask at Ife are possibly the only two in existence, and both happen to be among the finest examples of West African art, According to the Igala tradition, this mask was given to the then Atta by the Oba of Benin as decoration for ceremonial robes, There is another mask bearing the same name, but much smaller and of inferior, possibly earlier, workmanship, Measuring about five inches from head to chin, which was declared to be the second one, was seen. It was not in the Benin style but was a crude, probably fairly recent, work of little artistic value. It may have been made at Koton-Karfe if the statement is true i- that certain of the brass objects at Idah including Ekwe's stool came from there. plate5 : I'he Ejubeju Ailo Mask

Unlike the Ejubeju ailo pectoral mask, there are other masks of significance in Igala festivals such as the Ote Egwu mask used during the Egbe festival which comes from eastern part of the Igala kingdom, outside the capital, The mask is ovd or avoid, boldly chiselled face, long and oblique incisions across the check bone are some of its characteristics (see plate 8). Black and white colours were applied on the face symbolising the dead and the living which are the motives behind the festival - a reunion with the dead ancestors (chiefs) on yearly basis to ensure peace, tranquility and cohesion within the community, Plate 6 : Otcgwu Mask --.- --.- -I- __. Apart from Ote-eywu mask, the Egwu Oramarnu mask is

next and is a heart shaped facial mask; on each side of

tt~cnasal ~idgctwo small almond shaped eyes and two

tattoo markings, a star and a diagonal, are very typical

of its style as could be seen in plate 7. The mouth is

practical.ly rectangular, hardly prognathous with visible

fri.cjht2riing teeth, ~hc:?air dress is composed of a three

fold i:!?ignon that can also be found in many Idoma

sculptures notably in the sanctuaries (this is not unconn

with th? interaction between the two dialectal groups)

Egwu Oramarnu mask can be janiforn~and it symbolises

authority like the r(,yal nasks at Idah, It is also belie

that ib, authority and poww comes from the ancestral spir

and deviants are punishc?d by the masquerade through curs€

inflicting illness and so on, --. --. Egwu Oramamu Mask # Like Egwu Orurnaniu, the Egwu ~nyakatorom ask has similar functions like the former though more fearful in outlook,

(See plate ) It presents the same features; concave face, prominent nose protruding round-shapedeyes, rectan- gular prognatous mouth, oblique tattooings on the checks, and a central crest shaped chignon on the head.

Masquerades

In almost all the Iqala festivals, the masquerade display play a very significant role. Here the area of concentration is the mask and the cloth that covers the masked being. The masks are carved by selected carvers who, like the palace carvers of

Benin and Ife, &e responsible to the htta and Onus. The masks or head dresses used during the festival ceremonies differ in sizes and shapes in that the personalities expressed in the facial expressions depend upon the type of festival and what the b festival signify or symbolise. The masks are carved from different tree species such as mahogany, obeche, iroko, orachin and ache trees, some of which have strong superstitious beliefs attached to them, Some masks are in form of helments with double face resembling the human face, others have bird or animal shapes, ancestral spirits1 face, reptiles, Carved or attached on them.

The Ekwe royal hasquerade which is regarded as the king of the

Igala masquerades has no wooden mask head dress, The masquerade is draped from head to foot in an ample cloth out of which appear the mouth and the crest shaped nose, tubular eyes, and raffia fringe of the coat: at the bottom edge of the robe series of cast bronze bells of overal section were sewn; a large lozenge triangles and helicoidal lines decorate the umbilical zone, Circles were appliqued with the same helicoidal patterns with two opposing lizards round the circle just under the mouth, decorated with triangles as could be seen in Plate 1. In addition holds in his hand a brass staff with two janiform heads which resemble a human face with broad nose, large bulbous eyes and lips depicting a typical Yoruba style carving. a

Plate 10: Ekwe Royal Masquerade

kccompanying Ekwe and assisting in forcing the way for the Atta during the Egwu festival is the kgbanabo masquerade whose head dress resembles a kind of baboon muzzle and has a long stretched surface from the centre of which grossly protrudes the nasal ridge as shown in Plate 12. Two small eye openingscve emphasized by white chalk giving stylised form to the orbital cauities, The hair dress is made up of ,a thick, sleek cap covered with resin and decorated with little red and black seeds. The face of the mask shows the beautiful curvilinear shape, the crescent shaped eye openings and circular ears.

The masquerade was believed to have been abandoned by the Jukun during the Igal Jukun war a

plate I{(a) : ~gb masquerade.

Apart from ~gbanabo,the Inelekpe masquerade which also performs for three days during the Ocho festival is believed to have been abandoned by the Jukuns as well during the Igala-Jukun war of the 17th

Century as could be seen in Plate tC(b). The mask is an oval mask, chatacteriaed by a mouth open almost from ear to ear in a voluminous protruding spiral covered with abruss seed, with a straight, slightly flat nose and almond shaped eye openings. The forehead, the ears and the skull cap are covered with surfaces in relief decorated with ornamental red and black seeds, while the body is wrapped in strips of material which completely hide the officiant.

A Plate Il(b): Inelekpe masquerade P

Next to the Inelekpe is the -Epe masquerade whose name was derived from the name of a festival which takes place eight days before the Ocho festival, rt is the only masquerade that wears neatl1) always, the feather of --Uloko as shown in Plate Q. It is a helmet mask, carved in wood with bluish glitter. volumes are both concave, almost cylindrical disregarding a protruding wide collar beard, Qval eye openings, a protruding line reaching down from the forehe4 unto the nose, with well designed nostrils. f he mouth is prognathus, the auricle very large, covered with a white dye,

A feather of uloko is fixed in the right ear, he cap shaped hair P style protrudes showing, on both sides, cleared circular sutfaces and is completely covered with red abruss seed. --

Plate 12 ~peMasquerade Other than Epe, the Ichawula masquerade also performs - -_I-- on the third day of the five days preceeding the Ochs festi

I t is a helmet mask, characterized by its hair dress

composed of a central chignon marked with parallel grooves.

(see plate 13). ~bovcthe round ears, there are two

protruding half circles surrounding a central core covered

with red abruss seeds, Dn each side of a small oval mouth,

the checks show a typical ~chawulascarifications. white -- - ,- dye (or chalk) covers the eyebrows, nose, mouth and ears,

but the inask itself is a little bit dark because of the

type of wood it was made up of which is the Iroko tree, b i'is life force and power.

plate 13: Ichawula=-.. --2Ll Pas ueradem-..- ---iu -a- Ichawula is followed by the Odumado masquerade, one

of the 111ain supporting masks of the Igala royalty,

tradition and festivals, It performs on the fifth day of thc Ocho ceremony and preceeds the Atta back to his palace after the Ocho festivities, It is a well known cyclinder-shaped helmet mask covered with dark and lil ack dye as shown in plate 14. The white face is marked by vertical, parallel groves. The crescent-shaped open eyes are on both sides of a straight nose, with well designed wings, The mouth is el.ongai.ed with protruding prognathous lips. The auricles are rour,d, the wide protruding lines drawn from the lips to the temples, trace the face limits;* they are typical of Odumado, as it is the case with the cap-shaped, thick hair style which is covered by "epult red seeds. A white dye covers the oblique scarifications, the orbital cavities and the nose, The body itself is coverd with strips of material. It rerninds us of the

Ife head although the line:; dc; not reach c'own to the nose and mouth areas, although Chike Dike r&ognizes in them

?iupe scarifications which is uncontradictory. Apart from Odumado, the Ochochono masquerade is the most *.ecent of the royal masquerades. Tradition has it

that it was abandoned by the Jukun warriors during their encounter with the Igalas at Inachalo river near Idah in

the 17th centDry which resulted in Igala victory over the

Jukuns, The Jukuns hoped that it will help them to win

the war, The mask protcc.ts the kingship and has a particul?

dance step uncommon to other masquerades. Its function is

to open the way for the ~tta,to force a passage, to protecl # the Atta against plots of sabotage, and in a wider sense,

to protect the capital city of Idah and its people

particularly when the ~ttavisits the shrine where the

niaslc is kept before the Ocha festival, Ochochono is followed by -Ikeleku ~huma,who like Ekwe, clearly differs from the other masks or masquerades, even ;.f it assumes the same ritual function. strickly

speaking, it is not a mask, but a crown made of brass plates decorsted with inter-lacing geoinctrical designs and crossing lines as shown in plate 18. The masquerade wears a garment of a material richly decorated with flowers and abstract designs with sewed - on cowries, holding -itali stick to scatter the crowd on Ocho festival day. The face is covered with black indigo dyed woven cloth, aba .hi, with cowries stitched on to protect the face of the wearer and imbue the masquerade with some powers. he appliqued strips of cloth drapping the mask and masked body consist of

coloured fabrics cut into long strips.

---~late 15: Ikeleltu- ~huma Masquerade - Unlike Ikeleku ~huma,the Obaje Adeka masquerade, who

is said to be the mysterious walking stick of the legendry

Bnoja Oboni, can, at will, elongate to high heights and

shrink on the palm of the hand is significant in all the

Igal;~fe::tivals. It is a cylinder shaped helmet mask

covered with dark indigo dye (See plate 16), The whole

face is nxked by vertical, parallel grooves. The

crescent shaped eyes are on both sides coated on the

eyelids with white chalk, well incised eyebrows and

straight nose, long and pointed. The mouth is elongated

with prognathous lips, the lower lip coated with white

chalk paste. Beside the lips are marked by horizontal

parallel grooves extending to either sides of the forehead. The cheek region were marked by inclined grooves parallel in nature, that form a rcpe-like pattern towards the ear region,

The ear is circular in shape while the inside part was painted white with a cone shaped piece portruding at the middle,

The forehead was painted white while the head and hair form a cap like shape, thick and covered with abruss seeds, The masquerade is fantastic and mysterious, with superhuman powers, such as his ability to detect and exorcise witches and other evil forces in Igala land, Its duty during the Ocho festival is to rid the land of # all witches and all malevolent spirits before the commencement of the festival ,

Plate 16: Obaj e Adeka Masquerade Unlike Obqr A&L. :? both in terms of shape and functions, the Egwu ~fiamasquerades from ~doru ILL--+ district were prominent during the annual Okwula festival. The ~naskswere made of the same material - cloth and raffia and the nasquerades look like cylindrical cones, broad from the base nzrrowing in width towards the top

(see :]late If). The head c?rsists of a circular cap-like woven ysrn mixed with raffia, the centre of which stands a stick like piece with several pieces of knotted yprns shaking from its top, The patterns on the costume are triangular in shape arranged in a beautiful symmetric pattc appl iqued before heing / onto a black cloth with white portion ------. -.-2% at the base, 5 I

Plate 1'7: The Egwu ~fiaMasquerades -u-, Apart from Egwu nfia the Egwu Gbom Gbom from Ibaji

region is a masquerade with a difference. It was made

,I I' of pieces of material covering the face and body,

consicicred amongst the Igala as being the oldest. . - This masquerade consis: of pieces of cloth material packed in a bag like pntt-rn designed fabric and carried in a bamboo strekcher of ::bout six feet by three feet

( ,tee figure 1)), The mvsicians beat gonqs, blow flutes, beat clrums followed by invokations of the ancestral spirits 2nd recitation of incantations when the cloth is brou!;ht dodn from the str,,tch2r and spread on the ground.

The Egwu-.-- Gbom-Gbom Masquerade

Unlike the Egwu Gbom Gbom and other masks in Igala land, the Okwutc ma-;--.3 are antliropomorphic figures carved on top of some of the nine st-.zffs kept at the palace where the ~ttaresides, They bear the stylistic semblance to Benin workmanship as this author observes

(See plate bq )b Similarly, the so called "messengers from Idahvv or in some works, from Ife, a sculpture of two men each with clearly marked Igala style of facial .- . .- decoration may belong to the same origin as do the pectoral n~aslc Ejubeju ail0 worn by the Atta, the nine . ~--- staffs okwute mela and, perhaps, as suggested by Fagg, the Igala kingship itself, These staff represent the last nirle ~tt~lswho r!lled Igala and each staff is offered blood before being unvf:iled during the prayer ritual for any fcstival before the ari-l:?ncement of the festival,

T%e staff were made cf brass and are slender in shape, The cloth used in veiling the staffs is red im col.our and another white strip of cloth is tied on top of the red to make it tighter and ritually powerful.

The nin~ -~te Mela" Staffs ~ikethe for ,nc?ugh with slight variations, the

Okwute ule j solid brass, decorated with six -.-.a -2

transvet- \ almg the l-nqth of the body, is another < ri tp- \ .ept in the palace ( see plate 28) , The top of the lower half is cast in rough and distinct motifs

thereby making it bulkix than the other parts of the object, The top part is made of two dimensional stylised

anthropornor~~hicmotifs with a prominent nose and mouth but with tiny veyesll, The hu~anlike face is decorated

at the edge with intricxtc loops finely forged onto

the edge,

Three other types of objects form part of the

okwute ule repertoire, Seven brass balls are attached,

to B brass lo~pat the back of the face. These jingle

wherever the okwute ule is moved. A bunch of charms,

Ogwu, believed to be imbued with the meta~hysical -d

potency of the ancestors is also tied to the back of the face and hang down alonq the upper half, like the brass bells. The third object ic the -oyo smooth heavy solid brass measuring about fi%e inches diameter.

Plate 2a: The Okw~teUle Ritual Staff ApJrt from Okwute Ule, the Ojo ~ttais another collect;it2i? of 3rt forrrls consisting of bits and pieces of hard material that arc tied in an okptt cloth (locally wovm on straight looms and usually used as burial shrouds) to ;shzpe that looks lilts a gourd,

Plate 20: u__y__-- CHAPTER FOUR

QlWikCTEFUSTICS OF THE ART FORMS AS IT AFFECTS DRSS, HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS AND IMPLEMENTS

Dressinq

In all the Igala festivals, dressing plays a significant role because the public form part of the festivals, The type of dress worn during the festivals by the menfolk attract a lot of attention first from the fabric itself, which are made locally by the weavers and local embroiders, who sat and conceptualised the various design patterns sewn on the fabric such as gowns, jumpers, trousers, hats or caps, Other machine made fabrics are purchased in the market or elsewhere and the # tailors used their sewing machines to produce patterned designs on the dresses as could be seen in figure 2, Buch designs are usually abstract in shape while others have shapes of animals, birds or emblems designed on them depending on the weaver. The hats or caps are part of the dress, and they add to the beauty of the ceremony too. Designs of shapes, patterns, objects, flowers, birds or animals were embroidered by hand stitching method using different yarns of various colours. Those made for the royalty have cowries and feathers stitched on them.

Pl& 2x h typical Igala woman's dress ~late2xc,)The three major embroidery stitches

Other than the method of production of textile wares, it is worthwhile to discuss the embroidery on dresses made from the coloured

yarns produced locally and the patterned designs which were made to

look abstract or realistic in shape, ~t times coloured interlaced

yarns are used for the royal dresses, horse saddle covers, neck

hangings, etc. ~raditionally,Igala embroidery which is confined

exclusively to the decoration of dress is for the most part a very

conventional form of art, employing long established widely used

patterns and a small number of basic stitches (See plate 25 @) 46,

Most common are the button hole stitch, the chain stitch and couching,

and the fact that Igala stitches suggest a common ancestry with the

Yoruba. The way in which identical stitches are used by various Igala

people differ to some extent from one group to another,

Most embroidery of the Yoruba and Nupe, for instance, is more dense

than that of the Igala, A feature of some of the best traditional Igala

work is an attractive irregularity about the stitching, ~lateab)An Igala embroider at work

still on stitching and embroidery, special characteristics also occur on particular garments, On wide trousers, for instance, the* stitching is usually looser than on caps and gowns. The appearance of Igala stitching is also affected by established preferences for particular types of thread, trousers, being more often decarated with wool or loosely spun, silky thread, whereas caps and women's dress are usually sewn with fine cotton. The work of individual embroiders also differs so that stitches widely spaced in one man's work may be very close in another's, A comparatively new kind of embroidery, employing designs that are figurative, and occassionally of considerable

,b<,* charm, is being made by the Igalas on masquerade dress and a variety of masking and ritual clothes (see plates .3 and 1Q respectively).

Apart from textiles, one should take a look at the mask

(See plate\-& on which most of the festival displays were centred.

Masks are the most significant art forms in all the Igala festivals and the most public of the visual arts not only in Igala Kingdom, but also in all similar traditional festivals in Black Africa. Art historiqns : Machine Patterned designs on fabric

There are wmen dress on two piece wrappers made of locally woven + fabric strips that resemble the Yoruba -ASO-Oke of various designs and patterns. on top of these wrappers are blouses or long wide sleeved. half jumpers that reach the pelvis, with wide collared necks to match.

!"?e h.:aCgear and veil are also of the same material though made of a lighter fabric (see Plate 28, Other women, ladies and girls preferre the machine made fabrics which are lighter to wear, more colourful and gay especially when the local tailors or embroiders put a little touch of embroidery around the neck and sleeve6. AS part of the dress, bangles, ornaments, beads, rings and anklets are added to the visucl spectacle of the festival,

Plate 23 ~n Igala- wmen wearing a veil Fig- 4: -Igala farming implements---

Apart from farming tools, the fishing tools used to catch the fish to be us 3. during the ceremony are equally signific~n';, zron the 'iypes seen in ~ig.Q, they were made of stro:?g, metal rods cut end shaped like harpoon cr arrcw, others made up of three she.:? p-,

Fig. -

Apart from the farming and fishing tools, there are pottery wares

made by the Igalas which were used for cooking the food to be consumed

by the clan folk and offered to the ancestral spirits at the shrines.

They vary in size, depending on the use for example, the water jars

were larger, with wide mouths, coil pattern shaped and engraved on the

outer parts with fish bone or local comb incised into wet clay pot

before firing and glazing. Cooking pots are circular in shape though

with deeper and wider bellies designed to accommodate the quantity of

food to be cooked- Pots in which medicine, atakpa, soup and similar

items were kept look smaller, with triangular like patterns designed

on them using the quill or sharp pointed objects like bone or

knife (see fig. 6).

hose pots used in threshing locust bean to prepare soup with,

look round in shape with holes drilled in form of bee-hive to discharge

the waste matter and retain the seeds. Other pots of significance were the dining pots - one for serving food balls and the other for storing soup. They look smaller than other pots, but much more

decorated with relief patterns and shapes of birds, animals, etc.

~ostaf the Igala pottery wares were painted black except for the

ritual pots which were mostly in terra cotta colour though others

4- were mostly painted black with the aid of pastes of barks adleaves

6f plants believed to have medicinal powers, Fig, 6: Atakpa medioine pots

Having discussed Igala pottery wares, it is worthwhile to touch on the scarifications and other forms of body decoration which contributr in no small way in enhancing the beauty of the Igala festivals. The B patterns made first by application of soluble black coloured pigments d in form of ink on the required part of the body, could be abstract Or realistic before making the incision with knife oy any sharp object* such patterns are usually geometrical, triangQat: os a canbination of both and at times they were made in form og animal. ail? repttXe shapes based on the symbolic significance of such nymbold* I&: shh

'YL { in figure7. Econcmic trees like palm tree, mango, date

,\pi4 or farming implements like matchet, hoe, rake, were thttooed on the arms, below the ea, legs and foreheads, ~t tit'Ms shapes or symbols of cult objects were tattooed on the up@& segments of the 'L arm or the chest region. Fig, 9 : ~nimalshaped tattoos incised on the arm

Apart from body decoration, the Igala display such qualities in textiles as shown by the local weavers who produce the dresses # worn during the festivals. Made from locally spinned yarn obtained

J from local cotton, the fabrics are weft, using the local loom, shuttle and other available materials, The fabrics are in form of long strips that resemble aso-oke fabrics produced by the Yoruba weavers, Depending oh the user, the fabric is dyed to the required colour obtained from tree pigments or plants. he strips are then joined together using hand stitch or machine stitch to a desired size depending on the type of dress required. ~t times, both locally woven fabrics and machine made fabrics are joined together in form of applique to make gtxlrns or trbusers, colour plays a significant ritualistic role in Ig3la dressing such that only h. the royal family, the masquerades or priests use ? -0' - dress during the festivals. plate 26: -The E jube ju-ai

Igala pottery tradition was best expressed during the festivals through the use of immaculate design techniques in terms of shaffes of (J, the pots, the patterns on them and the beauty of the ceramic w

These were best expressed on the dining pots, cooking pots and other pots made for domestic use as sha.dn in Plate .', Calabash carving techniques were also displayed most especially on those used during the Egbe festival, Leather work and weaving techniques were expressec on the various drums made, charms, worn by individuals and the masquerades during the ceremonies, etc, It is also expressed on the and -amulu cloth used before (i-e. ~gbefestival ),

Plate 27: An Ucha designed pot- - . . - - . - -..- The flukes and other musical instruments used during the festival ceremonies were also works of art that contribute in enhancing the festival display. Made of barnboa sticks, the shape of

the flutes and the mouthpiece, the holes perforated to produce

different musical tones show some level of creativity. The rattles

tied on the ankles of the masquerades contribute to the visual

spectacle of the festival as well (See fig. 8). Made of raffia

fibres, seeds of plants or calabash pieces, the colouring of the,

rattles and the shaping are signs of creativity of Igala artists.

Fig- a: Musical Instruments. , $ CHfiPTER FIVE -- A -, -- ART FORMS AS SYMBOLIC FORCE ---A -

In sill the Igala f.3sti.vals9 the art elements discussed in the previous chapters have some symbolic force or significance in the festiyal displays and rituals perf~rxedbefore thc cornmencement of such festivals, The first being the farming, hur.+inq and fishing tools without which fmd and sacrificial animals could not be obtained to be offered at the ancestrai shrines. The pots in # which the food is cooked or medicine prepared for consumption or offcrcd as sacrifice have sgme symbolic significance in the festivals, A collection of nine small pots each dedicated to the s~iritof the last inmediat..c At'ias as well as the spirit of Ayegba, each conCsiiiing -7aibo the pct;.nt mattc-r in Igala medicine are be~imedto have potdsr of watcl~ingover the welfare of the l nd havc a strong symboiic force in all Igala

fesi-ivals, The ojo ~tta-a to which the Atta offers blood sacrifice and kola nuts durjng the Egwu festival symbolicalIy protects the ntt:a and his subjects during the festivals in the year against all types of cvils and misfortunes,

Recognition of the importance of cloth and clothing

is equally siqnificant in thc festivals as a symbolic

force as it is mirrored in surviving ritual practices assf-:ciatcd with the Igala indigenous religion, Sacrifices of cloth are often 2rescri.bed by the Ifa diviners or plar.at\? witches and die ti::^, Clcth also plays an important rol-e in religious obszrvanccs surroucding death, the regalia of the chiefs, 9-nu-sa, masquerades, egwu and priests, In a traditional funeral, the corpse with layers of vPOkpeu by male cl3n members. before burial.

Tabric plays a role again in ceremonies a few days after the burial when member of the rllated masquerade group appears impersonating thc dcceased and wearing ltcloths" sirililar to those in which the deceased was known to have been buried.

Ths Igala masquerades rcl:resent the corporate spirit, i?~gwuuof the Igsla d?ad and appear in a number of ritual and public cor,tc-xts throughout the year.

They appear individually at times of clan or general

Igala r:+j,oicing or crisis and as a group at annual festivals held in honour of the community ancestors.

Only when all parts of the ensenble are brought togethek and joined in a ritual act does the spirit of the masquerade enter the costume,

Ths costume itself, when not being worn, acts as t a shrine for the masquerade spirits, which may be called by th,: o7mer.s throughout the year when the need arises. Dr2sS equally posses a str3ng symbolic forcc in the

festivals as the charms and war dress that the Atta v

, , puts on to indicate the military dimensions of the ocha

festival, The dresses worn by individuals symkli~ethe

s.ig.nificance of dress in cnilancing the beauty in the

festival display.

The drums, f lut.. s and gongs beaten during the

festivals give some tqnal saund believed to have hen

// imbued with symbolic force by the ancestral spirits tm #

. . especially at night prior to th5 festival ceremoniesr

~t the same time the echoes serve as a line of communica- % -* tion between the living and the deaY most 'especiallq

the water sj~ir-itsand those living in the bush. ,Y ?.:as?:s, on which the festival display was based, have

strcng symblic force in the Igala ceremonies. T.hey are * prgduced iri order to -1iabl.e the! souls 'mf the dead,

g&~,or the protective sb)iritsof the society to

makc their appearance in tangible 'mr visible form, dr

for the dram2 ti; repr,-.sent;itifjn of mystical actions.

/ . sy~nhols of supernatural pT)wer like medicine crntainers

were carved onto m- atkachcd t-. the r?asl-.s to emphasize

the power of the mask dur<.ng the festivals. The wood

or tree trunk the mask was carved from, has symbolic

force 3t::ached to the festival as well (i.e. Orachin, ache, iroko) because the power and life of the mask dewnds on the tree specie.

The masquerade on which the mask is worn, have a tremendous symholfcforcc in all the fcstirals because they are imbued with ccrtaln powers that contribute to the mystical connotations of the masked beiny. ~hc

Ekwe masquerade for example, symbolise the ritual authority of the Atta and when the hits .he htta with the power # charged cane he holds on his hand three times on Ocho

, a festival, the Atta is imbued with the potency of the anc,s.tc-)rs and gives him (the Atta) the protection against malevolent spirits,

ngbanabo masquerade helps in forcing a way for the . L. --..--.- ~tta'shorses to open a passage to the palace duriny the Ocho fzstival ceremonies while Odumado- - ,$receerls the ntta back to his palace after the Ocho festivities. ochxhono masquerade protects the kingship and open thC .- * ..- '. - --... way for the ~tta,force a passage and protect the ~tta against plots, sabotage and in a wider sense protects the city of Idah ?.nd its r,c(?ple particularly when the

~ttavisits the shrine where he is kept before the

~chofzs tival,

QbAj$ adeki) masqulrade is vzry signficant in- Iyala festivals, beiny a mys tcrious masquerade with super human

powers such as his abi.1.i.t~tlr! detect and exorcise %itches festival-, is to rid the land of wf tches and all maLevolent

spirits bcfore the co~axncement of the festival, The

Ejubeju ail0 mask worn by the Atta has a significaht . --.-. &.* A~- symbolic Eorce in all the Igala festivals like the ~tta

Urnself, because the Atta cannot attend any festival

function without wearj.r,g the mask bccause it is believe4 *

that it instills fear mto othr:r eyes (the,people) due '

- to its magical power,

The .Ote-e-u- mask syrnbolises the dead ancestors

and therefore appears during the annual Eggbe festival ' to ensure peace, tranquility and cohesion within the

community, The Egwu Oranlamu- -. ---- masksyrnbolise the same authority like the r~yalmas]:~ at Idah. It is also

believed that its authority and power comes from the

ancestral spirits an,d deviants are punished by the

masquersde through curse, inf:i'ctfng' illness and so on,

~gwuAnyakator0 has similar functif-.ns like the L--- .. formi?r though more fearful in outlook. Egwu ~fia

L masquerades from ~6.oruhzve strong powers and symb4lic

f~rcein Okwula festival cerc~~nies.They are talking V 7 masquzrades, believed to be very dangerous and fearful

such that whatever they say will happen must happen

immediately, They curse witches, inf lick illness on

deviants, death to h,ardencd witches and criminals and

even comr.iunicat6 with the deqd. They are acknowledytd . . .-r tct be able to prove into the mysteries of the past, present and future @arcid~n tif icd with particular dead members of the lineage.

Thz nine ritual staff, Okwute mela, have a very L -*.. > strong syl-vbolic forcc in the Egwu and oche festival activities in that thz first item or activity is the offering of sacrifices by the .qtta personally, to the memory of his last nine prcdecessors by immolating nine goats, one each, to the spirit of the nine past ~ttas, each rzpresented by an Olcwute, In addition, the ~tta* . .- .*-, -- offers morsels of pguncled yam (new yam), dr?ps of locally brewed bekr (obulukutu) and kcla nuts, oji Igala, to h each rancmbered ~tta. The blood of the sacrificed anirna3s is poured neatly unt:. the upper part of each

.okwutz ...--L.--.. and prayers are ~ff?red accordingly invoking ths name and spirit of each ancestor commencing with

~yagbaOnla Idclko t3 th.? last ninth yredecessor.

Othx than skwutr2 mela?,, another ritual staff of -.-a .- ,.>- - strmg symbolic force in Igala fesfivals fi the okwuEemD ul1$, which can he said tci be the key to ' n ancestors,

BY hitting it onto the solid brass withTtheJ attendant nr-isc of the jingles, the dcor tr 4realm of the b anarstors is said tn be oa ,nod. +\ 144s a way of signalling tc the ancestors that the living a w ready to of$!!=. sam-ifices tc them, levhen the --~kwute the sc:l.id brass, the nams ?f an appropriate ancestor is callccl, The olcwute theref,re, acts as a prompter as to SLIPIICIII4 wh,?sc name or turn it is nat, The ritual is the medium thr<:ugh which csmtinued relationship between the living

Atta with all 1:;ala pzc::pl$, and th.=ir ancestors is maintained durins the annual f,-!stivals. unlike the -----Okwutc. .ul? . . staffs, there are staffs that menticn which arc* dif£\;rent in outlook (see plate 29) c ~d shape, The -Aru staffs w ich are empl,;yed as rswalking sticks" by the ~ttaas part ~f the Ochc rtlgalia equally hava a symblic force in the festival, It is a general

Igala b:z!.ief that the cc,inpositc animal and human symbols carved on the staff consist of magical powers. ~hese pswdrs ward off evi :,? on khc path of the ~ttaas he throws tho .hru . ... staff forwards as he walks towards the Ocho ground Anc Ocho, he smaller staff p,ru kekele has similar powers .-- . .. ".a + . 7 . ... a .-. that 9r tccts the ~ttafrf 1.1 -vils as he tl~r~mrsit forwards whild w2llting on his way t any festival gr~undlike Egwu f es LLiva.1, Inikpi cerem~jnyand s? c:-.- ., -,-

*' ,,At L1j

J "" The ~ru- Staff (~xpbsdW-. - -. THE SITUATICN TODAY --..-.. & -. -. .*.d.. -.--.-.- Igala art and fustivzls have been grossly affected by ths influc5nce of the Eurr.p:dan expl,3r:?rs and adrninfs- trators who came in and remoul+d their ways of life, culture, tradition and administrative set up, Throuyh trade and exchange of gifts, presents an.d other goods the

traditional works of art inta their museums and yalleries abr~ad. The dis?rict officers equally spread their # administrative tentacles int:., th& Igala ways of produetion of various itzms f3r h3us;::h~ld cc>nsumption. For example, they tried to Look into the way they make th~irtools for carving, pottery, weaving, hunting, fishing and so on,

Th; administrative set up of the Igala was disrupted by the c(-:lcinial adrninistratirm which in turn aff ccteJ 4 fihzir art ancl festivals, Such measures brwght some handicaps to the spirituzl pi-;wcr of the ~ttaand his % subjects in that a number of art works were either hijdes,

4estrc.)yed or discardr3d hence the rituals attached to Y th~mc~uld not he pcrfqrmc-d. For example, there were

statu~scarved or mouldzd that receive offerings of

human bloaA that had' tr, be destrcyed, discarded, broken

or buricd sway. Such wwks could nGver be produced

again due to the ban imposed cm some traditi~nal administrative functims p,rformed by the Atta, ~chaduand other S~adcdOnus in Igala kingdom, The 15ala believe that the Atta is thcir fathzr whose duty is to look after their welfare as h> is the mediator between his subjects and the ancestors.

Scme 3f the rituals p9.-rfr3rmcd by the Atta had to b15 suspcnded which involv22d the use cf sc)me works of art that have some symbolic forcc in the Igala f::stivals.

Such work includes the tc~~.lsuscd in piercing the Attats # car, shaving his head and making scarifications on his body. Others include the big pcctoral mask made of brass worn by the pr~vims~ttas, which the Iyala believed to be imbuc~d with magical p3wcr that makes an individal shzd tears on looking straight inti> the eyes of the ~ttatwice, Hence the name rrEjubcju - ailor* is what the R Igala call it m.?aniny "the? cycs that instill fear onto ik others" . which brc-d the productim the art w:,rks or forms that c \ntrjbut~?sto the visual spcctaclc cf thc festivals have bzen influenced by, the

Eur.jpzan 2dministrati:m. ~hcpalace artists were no

1.)ng~r ltspt busy like b. fc>rz thus, the abi lity to produce

tion have been affect~dsuch that the prc7curdmcnt of pigm,n-ks from plants t~ pruduce c~~lcursfor use in

bcing that the Gloss ~lrEmulsi n paints produced in

thu factfries were pr-fc-rrcd as they were brighter and

last 1 ;nger than the c?l?ur pigmmts fr3m plants, The

locally woven fabrics wzrz affcctcd t:)o because the yarns

prc.duc;.d and used by the weavers locally were dyed using

th? l9cal col~urpigmcmts. The same fabrics were use#

in making qchs or wrappers, trousers, hats and even

jumpkrs. Thc. only exci;pti.m wi2rti the burial cloth tvbkpet*,

...--amulu, and abahi bccquse thnrc are strong rituals attached tc? thtm in Xgala land.

The cciming of Christianity and Islam tc, Igala land

shattdrcd the strength -1f kraditional rt?li.qion which

rcs!.~lt.~d in the meagre d.-nand f~:!rearnings, ritual staffs

and cjth,lr items rc.lat .d tc art wc-rks kt?pt either in the

shrin.~sc.:r in the p,-rsc::.n1 s. ~uitea large num,bcr of the

Igala have embraced ~ithkrof the two rc1igi:ms which

.sv~n1c.d to the destructi(..:.nof ar discarding a number

af tr~asur~dworks of ~rt1;:~p.k at thsir ancestral shrines and h<;m;:s, some of the rituals p;:rformed in form of

~acrj-fic~sand off-rings have given way becausc they are

new r,.:.gardcd as t'un,.~thicalvor teimrnoralrl,

Hclwcver, those that still ?xist have bean reformed

in that the offering of human blood has been substTtuted th~paws ~f -Sde m. dicincs m2c-l~ in fcrm of locally made thrc.ad bunelks of variid shap~shavc. bt.!en an issue of

I~alaland being surr ;undcd by the Nupe and Igbisras

t the north, .the Yc~rubaand Ed3 tc, the west, thc Idorna

ext~rnalinflu~ncc in its p.rt, and tn s->me,?xtmt its

festivals, Th:? t .chniqu~s.>f prcduction of the art forms + lik%: masks, metal wrjrlts, the rn2squ~~raderegalia, other

ritual and musical i t-ms havd been advL-rsely affected by

the nL-.ijhbruring cultures. with tirn2, the Igbos inf lucnced

thz prgc1uctic.n of thz art f ?rms and carving tzchniques

rsxanrpl~s:f which ard th, . -..-..>k 2 tier~dcarvings kept in mast 1bzji hous~hnldsand shrines, Igala pottcry was

, * equally affrctca By the Elo/Bini influcncc such that

the l;t.-(;u pots, yam pots, smp pots, small pots ctc, to

r,!pres~nt an ao, off-r,.d t.2 the ancdstral spirits were

pr~~duc-clusing thc sar:l 2 'c chnicpds as that of the Bini in

chclractL>rand shape, Sr)m.. anc~stralheads that exist

t day, w!llch w:;re freclu.-n'cly mi:c:c in br :nze were also

mad2 in pnttery like thc Bini typ6s, and kept in the a anczstr31 shrinzs Unyi-zbo.

The! brass work of the Igala most comm~nlydepicted

in thL pr2duction of statuL:ttc:s, like thc ancicnt works of Eebin, werc made as d~~c"ati 1n.s for cL:rc;monial rob,?s of thc chizfs and partly us, d as mssequerade regalia. 75, cxarnpli., the brass b,?li.s \'~!?g the r:..bes of the Ekwe masquzrzdz wdre madk c>r pr ~duccdfrc-m the same technique.

Thc Ejubzju-ailo pectt-?r~lb~ 3ss mask hung on the neck of thd ,ritl-a as a sic;n of insuranct? 7f nfficc, the n-:thod of pr<:ducticn was crud?, prcbabl !r fairly recent work of littl<-artistic valuz, It may have been made at Kot0n

Karfd if the statemtnt is kuz, that certain of the brass .-bjects at Idah including .-..--Elcwdt,;-. sto,:l came from thew, The usz of pieces of brass d,_c rqtcd with dc.signs that have been hamm!r.rcd on thcm like t.hc Fkeluku nhuma mask have bcen inf 1.ucnccd by tl12 Yoruba, Benin and Edo or

Bida artists; c nc= of the mst tr(2~lsuredrelics at :'-r-- in Cnd~Stat? is the al1,:gcd cr:,wn of Oduduwa, which appcars fr<.m its damagcd r-lrllains '<: have been in this form.,

Tha design and dccorati::,n cll s.me Igala carved boxLFsfwnd in Ankpa and ~c-kinar:?:i:,ns of ths kinqdom

anthrspqm~,rphoussculptui -2s ali"l ugh they c~ulJha .-? bmn influtnc,?d by thc Y.:-uba, 8ini aK Igbo artists,

Nup~inf lucmce as ass .rtud by sc,,ne schoclls of thou,;ht. Nrs. Crdnans szzs sm, c innc.ctirn h-atween Igala and Nupe

carv~db#rjx,s, wooden minia+ur,? >tabl:--s typical of the

first Gcndar pdriod of ~thiopin, But other schools of a

thought rc-main ha3sistant.-:n the point, It was obscrved

that the crested hair sty12 f:~und cn some of tho 1gal.a

carvcd figures such as the flat plains of the face and i

.the oblique scarifications on the cheeks was also use4

atn(-mgst ths Rassa Komo who migrated to the north of the

Igala c untry, Th2 thcmc of anthppomorphous bqx-s runs # t.1 tht wdst amongst the Nupe, afid in the south amcngsk P the Igbo. Othc--r than thc carved boxes are the Okqa carve*

fiyurcs, generally carv.2d in wood, mainly found in the

nsrth - wcstsrn part of Igbo lanC, spre:ad to the south

of Igb.3 lend. The sculptorsf fr,:edr3m of c-.xpression,

nz~tablyin the dispr~sitimof the horns, the pattern of

the d~coraticnand thz jamifcrm facc,s, are typical art * forms of the 1baji. The Ok-ga is a tiered horned fi);re

cc2mpos~dof three superimpcscd levels, Below, a man and

a w man sitting back t,., back on the same chieftainls

scat; thc same sc

size, is reproduced on thd intdrmsdiary l~lvel;on the

tr;p cJf thz super pc?szd r iw ~.)fcrqwns with, gcr:mt!trical

patterns, a small face surrountcd by a conical coiffure

is frzmed in by two huge frrward lea ming forms, risinq

v~rticsallyto the top shswing the influence of IyQo Thc, presence of coil~dsnakc s on the fcrehead of scm? Bassa - Nge masks and sculptures, and ccncentric

sculptur~sdepicting the Igbo influcncc on Igala art

forms, of the male figurcs carved by the Bassa

Ngs, h~vesevcral of its f:;aturcs, like thz sh:?ulj~rand

ch::st p->sitions as well as thc: shape of tho eyes, resemble

th? Nfirth-rn Edo art (~uk~rub),and pcrh~psthat cf the

~tsakc;wh:: live wcst of the Niger, not far from Idah the

Igala capitale Somz schc:;ls .;~fthought asserted that

this an thr.: pcmorph-ms sculpture could hav? bbc.m introduczd

t Bnssa - Nge rdgign, r)r c*;uld h~vebecn'carved in the area by 2 foreign artist.

It has been c?Ss :rvd that thi. Igala body dc.coration

hns bz.;n aff ctc:d by Lxtt?rnal influ2nce and sccial ch~nje,

B R:x-ntly, the tattoqing of insxts, reptiles and ycometric

forms ,r patterns have bdcn introduced by ~hg~~birra 4+\ I~bo,Id: ma and oth2.r ncighbouring tribes. Such patterns

are mclre pcpul ar amqng unmarridd girls, ymth, women and

some initiates of ths masking tradition. scarification V Y

and tattooing are bttlic~vcdt~j .nhance and embellish the

hdy. W significance is the recognition that altho~jh C * ---++y- .. .-.- ,- 1. -S - Some Aspects of wood Sculpture. Und Af%+t&a Spratch." ~rchc-:ologische ~unde11 l@%?,pp, 132 - 33, the mxks may c;mbt:llish, thnt quality also dcpmds on the %,-.ldnts of the ~p~xia1is.i;and c;n the face: ~f thi-. individual, It is pf-~ssibl?to admirc both the marks and how the marks can rnak;: a pcrsnn look more beautiful. .. T~Gpztt.;rns are usually made cn th2 arms, lc.:gs and ch~stth::ugh in som,? c3sc:?s thc stcmach, nav~l,the chin and thc back' arc: areas thnt s0m2 Igala womzn fi-:lt should b~ decc)r,-,tc;d,

The musical instrun: mts used havc-. hem rcformcd, in that thc 2--.qs hav~bz~n r., n ..'.:llt.d such that single

$ g:,ngs h7.v- been ri:pl;?ccd by d,::uble gcngs which are longer., rn;>rc durable and pr2ducL: 5,-ttcr rnt-,lady thzn the formcr,

The clrurns h;\vc: bdcn incri2ascd in size, with stripp.-d cloth

P~LC~JSticd hmrjing r:;und thc h::!llow wocd :.incased by gc,at skin, ~t times cLpp12r wl&c, thic~yar.1~ or ribbor>s a,rd ?.lsc ticd t'- thz c1.-:kh tz tighten its grip on thc wo::!dm ccgo of th~::Irums, The flutes made of bclmboo sticks wdrti i?qu,-?lly r:;f zrmcd sc that they look shxter and much mre handy with the ppc:fclrations mad;. wider and fi:wer in num&r,

Thi:: carving ar.d srnithing tradition of the 1g;la have bi~ninfludnced by srcinl chmqc in thc smse that f~w2rart works produc~dwcrc of 1~:sszrquality and beauty compnr .d with thosc pr:,duc :d carlicr. Tht-: rrtason being thd lac:< c.f inter,.st by thc ynuth whose parents and ri;l aticns bi. c,:ml:? the mnin producc:rs of such art works, zs w~ll.?s the rural - urban drift which 1.d to the migr,2ti-,n and <>bmdc>ningsuch skillcd trades in most clans 2nd linjlages in Igala land because cf the thirst for white collar jobs and the attractiqn of city life.

Drcss, which is a m,?jr'lr factrr in Igala festivals and visual spectacl$ h2ve bwn affected by social change

in that modcrn ways of drcssing adcpt,?d fr:.lm the fabrics proclucc?d in the factc)ricssupercceded the traditimal drcssing patterns. Ncw tL:chniques cf embroiding and @ cloth dcsign h-we been anbraced by both the old and young such that the bright cc;lmred fabrics and yarns over shzdcwed the indigo and tr~ditionalc,,lour rind

pattern designed caps, g,-wns, jumpers, tr(1users and wrappirs stitched by thc Igala land embroiders helped

in malting the festival display much more interesting and co1i;urful. The wc;men9 s drcsscs were equally significant

and affcctcd by soci?l changc as well such that the

heavy aso-cke like fabric wrappsrs and wide-sleeved

blouses gave way tl.: the modern ~nglishwax, Java printed

fabrics prc,dUCed in th2 tcxtilc mills. CHAPTER SEVEN ---_I_.__ CONCLUSION -* -4- Igala art and festivals have been open to a great many influences. The artists arrived at a highly intere:;ting and perhaps siqnif icant concepts that relate to the traditi'onal beliefs of the society. Iga1,- art therefore reveals a series of basic features of the Igala religion and society. Most of the art works create the impression that the artists' conscious or unconscious * intelltior, is to simplify and even to distort the perceptive represensorial element of their art, and thus to render it transparent and open to trans-sensional meanings and values,

The 1gaJ.a seldom carve in order to arouse aesthetic pleasure, or to produce aesthetic values. The art is to a greater extent functional and less individualized. The artists have r-'-vc-ylittle freedom for choosing and treatinq their s,ubject. They are less able to express in

their works personal experiences and individualized states of mind,

This shows that the primary concern of the Igala

artists is not with the individuality of the objects and situations that form the content of their art, but rather with symbolic significance or, to use a more

technical 1any age, with their participation in a super..individual and more of ten trans-sensorial structure. of meanings, One can say that anyone concerned with the

cultural interpretation of art has to bear in mind the

intimate and complex interrelation between culture and

society, be tween dorninan t beliefs and concepts on the one hand, and dominant social events and institutions on

the other. The Igala artist seems to be possessed by a cor-flpulsive need to schematize and abstract his physical

and artistic activities, that is, by putting between

himself and nature a web of spiritual images and abstract

forms. His religion and art are therefore two basic ways

in which he escapes from the natural and sensorial into

the spiritual and abstract.

From the various motifs and symbols found in the

art forms displayed during the Igala festivals such as

the scarifications, tools, masquerade head dresses and

regalia, dress wears, other ritual objects and the like,

a lot could be adopted to serve as a model for the rational appraisal of the development of concepts for use in visual

communication design, ~lso,it should engender the true

understanding and appreciation of design as a basic human

activity whicn originated from one common root, the

design elements that were derived from nature. It is

apparent that through design, people must reflect their

environment, their life experiences, as well as achieve

their identity, gala symbolism is the distinguishing mark of Igala art, it is ci reflection of the peoplefs

social and cultural life,

what has been done lin this thesis is to place in broad perspective the different aspects of Igala art and symbolic motifs in their festivals and how it relates to their ways of life be it social., economic, political and so on, It has been noted tt.;lt. design and decoration is considered an art which has its origin in the remote past, ~lthoughcarving, ~\~~?aving,pottery and body + decoration has remained the favourite medium of art expression in Igala land, their dominance in the traditiona

themes was due to the associated religious importance

attachzd to them among the inhabitants.

The variety of layouts that could be derived from the adaptation of the Igala design motifs can be seen in the various category of posters, labels, logs, headed

letters, package designs, cards and stamps, For corporate identity designs, these pattern elements could further be adapted for creative designs suitable for stickers

and au tographics.

Other design patterns c~uldbe employed by the public

Enlightment unit or sector of the Government for propaganda

by means of appropriate motif and phraseology. Some

posters for the outing and arena display of Egwu ~fiaor ~kwecharacters during the festivals, or simply an end-of- year fund raising launching of the Igala community.

P~tternsfound on the ~otterywares, calabash carvings, etc. could be used as a favourable composition or a postage stamp, In the industrial ssctors where the policy may concern new or nodified products, rationalisa- tion or diversification, challrjcs in distribution methods, or even entry into n2w markets, the effective use of motifs would attract the i-~r~cdcdattention for the d~sired comn~unication, In the realm of visual communication, the indispensability of significant forms cannot be over- emphasized. The process of seiving the art implicit in the Igala festivals involv~sthe painstaking probe into ths soci o-poli tical setting as well as the socio-cul tural phenomenon whose ritualistic essence animates some of the festival,

The recurrent constants in the traditional festivals are thcir rituals, merry-making and sense of re-union amonc the Igala. This is relevant since the festival itself is built around the th~mzof kingship and communal solidarity.

Furthermore, the festival serves to underlie the strong links unitdng the living, the dead and those who are yet to be born, since visual comn~unicationdesign conveys information more vividly than words, the irresistible and attention arresting powclr (CL~ the Igala motifs have been

put t:,~ use to show that could be possible within the

unfvzrse of graphic design, The motifs also could be * found to be useful in the relevant visual communication

desigr~in most organisations,

The process of advertising Igala art and festivals

outside the frontier of Igala land would greatly help

tc extend its aesthetic s2nsibility and relative meanings

to non-indigenes. In this way, Igala motifs when agplied

onto designs become rn3aninyful while at the same time

defining their indigcneous character. One way of doing

this is by using various techniques of creative photo-

grsphy to produce post cards, photo albums, brochures,

calendars, and otherpublic relation materials, all of

which could be distributed within and outside the country.

'The technique of panning, motion, frosting, cropping,

panorama, solarizatiou! and tc?xturization, among others,

could be explored for this purpose. Public Relations

Depar l:,:wnts or units of the ini is try of Information and

Culture could exploit this seemingly viable venture which,

besides the economic fact(>r, also has its cultural

significance, On the other hand, indus trial/advertising agency visual communication designers should find suitable motifs from the "data bankw and apply them in advertising designs fqr our increasing locally manufactured goods. ~esignersin research centres could find Iqa! a motifs ideal as f av~urablethemes for printmakinq wi .,, particular reference to woodcut, etchinq, mosaic and collage. ~depegba,Co - A survey of Nigerian Body Markings and their Relationship to other Nigerian Arts. Ph. D. Thesis-- Indiana University, 1976,

A, Eo iifiybo - "Trade and Trade Routes in the ~ineteenthCentury, Nsukka" , Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Vol. 7, . NO. 1, 197-3:--'

~llison,Po A. - Notes on the Igala. Unpublished Manuscrint. 1944.

Ar.?1strong9 Ro Go - Peoples of the Niger Benue Conf luence, ~thnographicSurvey of Africa, West ~f rica Part X ~nternationalInstitute, London, lmTFO77 - 90, Borris de Rachewiltz - Introduction to American Art, John Murray,- - ond don, 1966, pp. 55 - 79. Boston, J. S. - Ifa ~ivinationin Igala, NOo 4, PO 355.

Boston, Jo S. - ~edicineand Fetishes in Igala, Africa ~ol,XLI P, 200 - 207. -- ..9 Boston, J. So - Ikenga Figures amongst the north west Igbo and the Igala. Federal Department--- of Ankiquities Lagos, 1980, p. 120. Chike, Dike Po - symbolism and Political Authority in Ifala klngdom PhoC hesis, university of igeria Nsukka 1977.~. .-. --=-iiiiVPC-. 4r Clifford ~ile~-Noteson Bassa Kano Tribe in the Igala Division. ?(LIV9 NO. 95, 1936, p, 106

11- Cremans , -Sohe aspects of wood sculpture, Und ~fr.. A-rcheo!.ogische f~nd 1922. p 132 -__-.*-. .a".-.--

12. Elsy Leuzinger - The p,rt of Black Africa - tudio vista_, London 1~~~~1~ Ecclcs, Polly - "NUpe Bronzesvv, Nigeria Magazine Noo 73, 1962, pp. 13 - 25. Egharevba, J. U. - A short history of Benin Ibadan University Press, Ibadan, 1968, - --- -*..-.. . rim, E. 0. - Leopard, Civet, Birds and History: the Idoma Caseo Benue River Valley Project Papers, 1976, p. TEi - 34. Isichei, et a1 - Papers presented at the Conference on Masquerades in ~iqeria~istorv and ~ulture, Port ~arcou;t, ~e~tembe;,1980 being revyewed for publication.

Francois Nyet - Arts of the Renue, London la @ Fagg, Wo and Pickton, S, - Potters Art in Africa. British Museum, London, 1978, p. 2 Lawal, Babatunde - The present state of Art historic^ Research in Nigeria, vvProblemsand Pos~ibilities~~,M, S., University of Ife Jns ti tute of ~f rican Studies, 1973 (referred to by Frazer, 1975),

Louise, E. Jefferson - The Decorative Arts of ~frica. Few Y,qrk, 19 ~hilpot,J. H, - The Sacred tree in Reliqion and Mytho London, 1897 : 17 - 19.-

Gb The Arts of the Jukun Speaking peoples of ~orthernNigeria, Pho D. Thesis Indiana Unive,rs*ity, 19-30.

Shsl ton, A. - The Igbo Igala Borderland: Religion and Social Control in Indigenous African Colonialism, Albany 1971 XIX : 24,

Sieber, Ro - Sculpture of Northern Nigeria, The Museum of Drimitive Art, New ~ork,T61: 32 - 33.

Sieber, Ro and T. Vevers - Interaction: The Art Styles of the Benue River Valley and astern Nigeria, The Department of Creative..,,,., ~rtsv Pur.. 2.- ue, 19'14 9 '19, 25. Srhith, Pi. - The Artisk in Tribal Society, London 1961 : 24.

26. Thompson, Re F, - The Sign of Divine King, African_--- iirt, 1970 : 8 - 11, 27. IJndcrwood, Lo - Masks of West ~frica,London, 1948. 37 - 40,

28. Vogel, 5. - For spirits and Kings: nfrican Art from the Tishman Coliection. The ~etropolitan Mus>eum of- .-,rir.> New ~ork,1981 : 23 - I. 29. wille& Frank. - iifrica', Art, London, 197% : 66-76. I 30. Worringer, w0 - ~bstractionand Empathy, K,egan Paul Lor* 1953 : 38 -

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS *-..IIJ.II.---rCr-

National Census ~igures1963 : 6 - Federal Gpvernment Gazette, -1963, BmUe State Official Diary, 1980 : 25 - Official Benue State Government Diary, 1980.

Survey Map of Igala Land 1983 - Federal Surveys Department ?L$gos 1983.