The Ibibio people of southern Nigeria made
this post before 1900. It was created to stand in the centre of a shrine
dedicated to a dead village elder. The shrine,
called an ngwomo, acts as a temporary home for the spirit until the death
rituals are completed (there are several rituals spread out over time). As well as a carved post, the shrine contained
the belongings of the elder. These were for his use in the afterlife and reflected his social position.
This ngwomo post shows an ancestor with all of this
regalia. The necklace of leopard's teeth around his neck
shows he was Inam - the highest Ibibio title. The
leopard fur circlet under his hat shows this man was a chief.
Beneath him we see his wife and child, or possibly his slaves. The bottom figure wears an
Idiong circlet around his
head which would have contained magical mixtures.
Very few of these posts have survived - during the 19th century they were replaced by cloth designs showing the elder's
achievements. Christians replaced these with cement structures in the 1920s (non-Christians continued to use the cloth
drapes). This is one the rarest pieces in World Museum Liverpool's collection.
Back to Africa section | Next object (Guardian figure) |
