Ikenga (shrine figure)
Igbo peoples (Nigeria).c. 19th to 20th century C.E. Wood
The shrine reflects the great value the Igbo place on individual achievement. Personal shrines are created in the form of figures known as ikenga to honor the power and skills of a person's right hand, as the right hand holds the hoe, the sword, and the tools of craftsmanship. The basic form of an ikenga is a human figure with horns symbolizing power, sometimes reduced to only a head with horns on a base.
Form
Carved wooden sculpture
Masculine sculptural genre
All ikenga are much taller than they are wide
Ikenga are carved with intricate designs all along the main carvings
All figures include a set of ram horns but they vary in size
Function
Celebrates the Igbos belief in the importance of individual achievement
A source of strength and power for the owner
Emphasize the power of the right hand
This is why the right hand usually holds a sword
While ikenga do resemble the people for whom they were carved, they are meant to symbolize the significance of that person in society or any past accomplishments of the person
Always kept in the home of the owner, in some kind of sanctuary within the home
Ikenga reflects the importance of earned status in Igbo culture, honors power and skill of a man’s right hand because of success in action. Earns them recognition as warriors
Figures were displayed by men on a personal shrine and made sacrifices to it, important part of the household
Content
An 'ikenga' is a carved wooden figure that has a human face and animal attributes (anthropomorphic and zoomorphic).
Can be more realistic depictions or more abstract depictions
Horns symbolize aggressiveness and ambition because they believe that rams fight with the head and the head initiates all good action
Most ikenga hold a sword in their right hand (the one shown does not)
The figure is carved to resemble whoever commissioned the figure to be made
Context
Made by the Igbo people of present day Nigeria
Igbo civilization began in the 19th century and still survives (on a smaller scale) in the present day
Live in a remote inland area where they were very isolated and independent from surrounding tribes
Did not have any form of centralized government or classes or any kind of powerful chiefs which created an accepting society that celebrates individual achievement and success.
