Figural offering bowl, Yoruba; Nigeria
Wood, iron, pigment; H. 14 1/2"
Among the Yoruba of the Ikiti region,
carved wooden bowls portraying female figures holding
chickens are traditionally offered to guests as
a gesture of hospitality and generosity. Thompson
describes this particular bowl as "… a
figurated container for kola of a kind called Olumeye
(‘one who knows honor') carved in the style
range of Efon-Alaiye. …Olumeye supports one
child on her back and guards another to her right.
The keel of her coiffure (Irun Agogo) proclaims
her marriage to the gods." Additionally, Daniel
McCall has explored the significance of the Yoruba
woman holding a bowl with a carved chicken on the
cover and its relationship to the Yoruba creation
story: "At Ile Ife, considered in Yoruba thought
as the center of the world and ultimate place of
origin for all Yoruba city states, Oduduwa,
the creator, descended from the skies by a chain,
but there was no place for him to stand since there
was only water below. So Oduduwa emptied
a container of earth on the water and placed a giant
five-toed chicken on the dirt. The bird scattered
the soil about and thereby increased the dry land,
enabling Oduduwa to plant a palm nut which
grew into a many-branched tree. Thus the earthly
foundation established by the "Earth Spreader"
is in fact Oduduwa himself". Almost
certainly carved by Agbonbiafe, this delicate
offering bowl depicts at once the characteristics
of motherhood, protection, generosity, and beauty.
