Figure

Item number 3055/15 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Wooden ikenga figure. The figure has a conical base with a cylindrical torso. The torso/body is decorated with incised zigzag lines and raised sections of wood with grooves around the edges of the midsection. The figure’s neck is long and wrapped at the base with a thin, degraded strip of woven fabric which is knotted at the back of the neck. The figure’s head is rounded in the back but with a triangularly shaped face including a pointy, beaked nose and sharply pointed small chin and lips. The eyes are stylized slits on the edges of the face, and attached to the sides of the head are two large, curved horns. The horns are v-shaped and point backwards away from the face. There is a large crack in the figure extending from the neck to the base on the left side.

History Of Use

Ikenga (literally "strength of movement") is a horned spirit and one of the most powerful symbols for the Igbo people. Although taking on different forms, the figures always have a pair of ram’s horns, representing the animal’s strength and fortitude, characteristics like power, achievement and upward mobility, valued by men who regularly invoke them for success.