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Igede Art and Death
| Article
# : |
10336 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
12 / 1986 |
7,018 Words |
| Author
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Robert W. Nicholls
Robert W. Nicholls is a media specialist with the Howard
University Research and Training Center in Washington, D.C. |
Traditionally, among the Igede of Nigeria as in other African cultures, the living and the dead are in a permanent relationship with each other. The living act as temporary caretakers for the prestige and prosperity of the lineage on behalf of the ancestors who did the same during their lives. Having laid the foundations for the existing society, the ancestors are concerned that the present successfully unfolds into the future.
That which is cherished and respected as being of the forefathers is also referred to as being of the dawn or morning. The protective ancestral deities are known as "morning deities," and members of a lineage describe the oldest village from which they trace their origins as their "morning house." Because the beginning of the day is associated with birth and renewal, the ancestors are believed to be concerned not only with continuity and conservation but with regenerative and creative aspects also.
Music and dance--the pre-eminent forms of creative expression in Igede--are thought of as an inheritance from the forebears, and traditional music is called "music of the dawn." Thus, within the worldview and cultural orientation of the Igede, both conservative and creative aspects are apparent. These dual aspects are also reflected in their arts. Traditional practices necessarily have a basic conservatism, but change or innovation is not stifled if it appears as a logical extension of established usage.
While traditionally the Igede wove their own cloth, constructed pots, worked in iron, and modeled statues, it is music and dance, and the carved masks and woven dance costumes, that provide the greatest source of
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