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15. Ifa Divination Vessel: Female Caryatid (Agere Ifa)
Yoruba, Owo, Nigeria
Ivory with wood or coconut-shell inlay; H. 16.2 cm (6 7/8 in.), Diam. 11.4 cm (4 1/2 in.)
17th–19th century
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1991
1991.17.127

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15. Ifa Divination Vessel: Female Caryatid (Agere Ifa)

his ivory divination vessel (agere Ifa), consisting of a bowl supported by a female caryatid, served as a receptacle for the sixteen sacred palm nuts (ikin). Through this medium, Ifa priests communicate with the god of fate, Orunmila, in order to obtain insight into an individual's destiny.1 (See part 4 of the Pemberton essay.) The investment in costly material and the high-quality artistry apparent in its design elevate it beyond a mere functional implement. This depiction of a woman bearing an offering in a devotional attitude conveys the notion that it was conceived of as a form of prayer to the divine.2

This tribute to Orunmila takes the form of a kneeling female figure, whose legs are folded beneath her. She balances an offering bowl on her head and supports it with raised arms, hands held to either side of it. Her strong, broad torso contrasts with the graceful sweep of her attenuated arms. Her facial features are boldly carved, with deeply incised pupils and three vertical cicatrization markings above either eye. A bead necklace that rests on her chest is her only form of bodily adornment.

Most agere Ifa are made of wood. The relative rarity of ivory agere Ifa, such as this one, suggests that they were either owned by the highest-ranking Ifa priests or served as the ritual art of royalty.3 On stylistic grounds, this work has been attributed to the Yoruba ivory-carving center at Owo,4 located on the far-eastern edge of Yorubaland. Owo's leadership traces its origins to the divine kings of Ife. According to oral traditions, Owo's founding king was one of the youngest sons of the god Orunmila. Owo emerged as a distinctive regional artistic center, specializing in ivory carving. So acclaimed were Owo's ivory carvers that their services were sought after by patrons in neighboring regions.5

The high value placed on ivory goes back to antiquity and is reflected in mythical accounts of Orunmila's preference for and association with it. Because ivory was such a precious resource, and the preferred material for denoting the status of kings, chiefs, warriors, and diviners, elephant tusks were a commodity controlled by a powerful elite. Within Owo's sphere of influence, elephant hunters retained only one tusk out of every pair of tusks and were required to present the other to the Olowo (the king of Owo). After the Olowo, Ifa priests constitute the second most important consumers of ivory artifacts.6 By commissioning divination implements in this prestigious medium, they emphasize their ties to Orunmila and commemorate the origins of Ifa.

The agere type of vessel, which holds and raises the ikin, has been likened to a miniature temple of Orunmila.7 The caryatid serving as the vessel's base, here portrayed as a kneeling woman, takes a variety of forms, including dancers, musicians, and equestrian figures. These subjects at once reflect the diviner's clients' hopes for prosperity and express their gratitude to Orunmila for successful consultations. The female suppliant featured in this work is perceived as especially effective in predisposing the gods to act favorably on the suppliant's behalf, and as an ideal means for expressing thanks.8

1. Rowland Abiodun in Yoruba 1989, p. 112; and see cat. no. 12, n. 3.

2. Henry John Drewal, "Art and Divination Among the Yoruba: Design and Myth," Africana Journal 14, nos. 2–3 (1987), p. 139.

3. Yoruba Art and Aesthetics 1991, p. 68; Abiodun in Yoruba 1989, p. 112.

4. Royal Art of Benin 1992, p. 285.

5. Robin Poynor, "The Ancestral Arts of Owo, Nigeria" (Ph.D. diss., University of Indiana, 1978), p. 22; Royal Art of Benin 1992, p. 285.

6. Abiodun in Yoruba 1989, pp. 104–5; Yoruba Art and Aesthetics 1991, p. 68.

7. Abiodun in Yoruba 1989, p. 112.

8. Royal Art of Benin 1992, p. 285.