Ancestral Polyphony

Author(s): Meki Nzewi

Source: African Arts, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Jul., 1978), pp. 74+92-94
Published by: UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3335349
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 ANCESTRAL POLYPHONY

instruments; he has
From a paper (Ancestral Polyphony: Immanent Dimensions into know enough about drama to direct the
action
Igbo Arts) read at the African Studies Association and emotions in a theatrical performance.
Symposium
on African Art, Music and Literature, UniversityThe ofIgbo artist is thus an individualist, but his art belongs to
London,
September 20, 1977. the community, and each artistic specialization is part of a
complex whole. In Igbo society, all artists are ndi egwu
t has now become a belabored observation that Igbo (players/musicians), although further distinctions may be
art, at the level of performance, exhibits a synthesis of allmade: the dancer is ogba egwu (one who gives physical motion
the creative and performing disciplines: music, dance, drama, to music); the instrumentalist is oti egwuloku egwu (one who
storytelling, and the visual arts. All these are implicated in beats music into life); the singer is ogu egwu (one who
Igbo music theater, egwu. What has not been much investi- calculates music or recounts in music).
gated is the nature of this synthesis. I believe that for the Igbo, the artistic meaning of life is a
A specialist has to be knowledgeable about the issues unity of earth (Ala), man and death: earth as the environment
for life, man as society-the meaning of life-and death as the
congruent to his trade. In Igbo society, there is specialization at
infiniteness of life. The earth is the spiritual-physical-
the level of the artist or tradesman, but integration with allied
fields at the level of social action. For example, a good mythological source of creative ideas. Many festivals and
musician needs to know about the emotive and choreographiccelebrations derive their thematic focus from Ala, and materi-
implications of a mask to underscore them in the music. He als used in artistic constructions and displays are derived from
needs to be enough of a craftsman to fashion and repair his the earth. Ala has a mythological essence: genies and cos-
mological elements of folktales and masquerades emanate
from beneath the earth or from its nether limits.
Man articulates the artistic formulations inspired and fur-
nished by the earth. The purpose of art is to edify society and
ARCADE GALLERY of LONDON sustain communion with the intangible supernatural forces.
Although Igbo festivals and celebrations may be dedicated to
28 OLD BOND STREET, LONDON W1X 3HD * 01-493-1879 the supernatural, they are essentially a celebration of life, an
explication of human society.
Death is the eliminator and perpetuator of artistic pursuits.
When an artist dies, his understudy may blossom and establish
his own artistry. The mystery of death has given rise to
ILLINOIS
institutional funerary themes and their theatrical elaborations.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH We have music theater and other art forms inspired by the idea
FAIRWEATHER HARDIN GALLERY of death and exploring the mysteries of the infinity of exis-
101 EAST ONTARIO tence. These three elements--earth, man, and death-are the
CHICAGO 60611 sources of Igbo art.
(312) 642-0007 There are four types of artistic vision now existing in Igbo
society: the traditional, the evolutive, the Pop/export, and the
literary. The traditional genre represents the extant modes and
media of the ancestors. The evolutive encompasses the com-
promise being forged between the traditional arts and modem
acculturative forces. Unlike these two genres, Pop or export
art, ogbalu ofuu ("the vogue"), has ephemeral appeal and
often lacks a traditional artistic foundation. In the literary or
modem genre of the arts in the areas of storytelling (the novel),
music, drama and the visual arts, some fascinating experiments
are going on in which there is strong evidence of traditional
elements. I shall attempt here a brief sampling of leading Igbo
literary artists.
JUKUN
Obiora Udechukwu specializes in painting and drawing.
Although from Agulu village, he grew up in Onitsha, where he
had his elementary and secondary education. He attended
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and later the University of
Nigeria, Nsukka, to complete his graduate education in fine
Continued on page 92

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followed by a good synthesis of the Cos- with important clues still to be found among categories-ritual practices and beliefs-to
grove's Swarts ruin excavation-a typical the Zuni, Hopi, and other pueblos. Though provide access to African spiritual manifesta-
Mimbres village. Brody reconstructs what is Brody could have done more with iconogra- tions.
known of Mimbres society, then locates it in phy (and he undoubtedly will in the future), I Newell Booth, the editor, and author of
the matrix of preceding and contemporaneous hope my criticisms only underline the impor- four of the book's thirteen articles, raises a
cultures, including a discussion of the com- tance of the work he has done so far. key question: "How is it possible to focus
plicated interrelationships of Southwest pot- Like all ambitious studies, this volume is upon what is pervasively present in the whole
tery traditions. These first chapters provide an troubled by a few of the almost inevitable society?" In "Some Aspects of Religion and
excellent foundation for understanding errors in layout and in coordination of plates, Art in Africa," Sieber shows that African
Mimbres art. Succeeding chapters deal with captions, and text references to them. The traditional art provides an avenue for answer-
the technical and formal aspects of the pottery caption for figure 19 reads "Arrow-makers," ing Booth's question. Sieber illustrates
and its geometric and representational paint- but the text (p. 53) calls the scene a "gam- among the Igala, the Dogon, and in the Poro
ings. The final section examines a variety of bling hand game." Plate 4 is not a San society the spiritual manifestations at the in-
aesthetic considerations and concludes with Clemente Glaze, but rather a Mimbres'Poly- tersection of art and religion, leading inevita-
the revival of Mimbres designs in modem chrome, while Plate 9, labeled "Mimbre bly to the conclusion that neither African trad-
pueblo ceramics. Polychrome," is probably the San Clemente itional art nor religion can be understood apart
The formal classification of Mimbres pot- Glaze of the Plate 4 label. Figure 63 is iden- from their interpenetration.
tery has long been a concern of scholars. tified as the exterior of figure 16, yet they are Another important paper in this collection
Brody's distinction between Mangas black- listed as coming from different collections. is Booth's clear portrayal of Baluba religious
on-white (Cosgrove's Mimbres Boldface) The references to figure 71 on page 138, fig- traditions in a synthesis of his own field re-
and the later Classic Mimbres black-on-white ure 85 on page 145, and figures 176 and 177 search with many sources unavailable in En-
is the clearest and most detailed to date. Still, on page 209 all refer to something other than glish. There is an interesting photograph,
he cautions against inflexible typologies. the stated illustration. One final but poten- taken by Booth in 1972, of a BalubaKilumbu
Brody outlines the major pictorial principles tially confusing error occurs in Table 2; the (prophet-diviner) in full regalia. Quite differ-
of Mimbres painted pottery without sorting next to the last column's subheading should ent in scope but done with equal care is
the designs into artificial categories meaning- read "no. pots" rather than "no. figs." Booth's "Islam in Africa," in which he traces
less to the prehistoric peoples (cf. A. E. Errors aside, the photographs are uni- the varied patterns of Islam's growth
Jenks's 1932 article "Architectural Plans of formly excellent throughout and are a wel- throughout the sub-Sahara. Another well-
Geometric Art on Mimbres Bowls," El come break from earlier publications' heavy written paper, by Fred G. Sturm, reports on
Palacio 33:21-64). reliance on drawings. Over 150 Mimbres pots the fast-growing Yoruba cult in Brazil, a re-
The chapter on representational paintings is are illustrated, many for the first time. Good ligious movement remarkably faithful to its
the longest and unfortunately the least suc- comparative material is provided by thirty African roots, yet making great strides among
cessful. Brody assembles an impressive cor- photographs of other Southwest pottery tradi- Brazil's non-African population.
pus of 733 vessels with figurative motifs, and tions. Each illustrated pot is accompanied by More clearly related to the arts is
tabulates them by "Pictorial Organization," full documentation including dimensions, Kipng'eno Koech's "African Mythology: A
"Subject Distribution," and "Mythic Ani- museum number and provenience when Key to Understanding African Religion,"
mal Attributes"; however, his elucidation of known. which recounts in full an important folk tale
the sample falls short. The author anticipates The bibliography, rich for a general audi- from the Kipsignis, a Kenyan people. Koech
the chapter's major weakness in the preface ence, is somewhat disappointing for the makes the observation that African myths
when he states, "I have only begun to explore specialist. Several relevant studies by Brad- provide at once entertainment and spiritual
iconography." This is the richest and poten- field, Fewkes, Hough, Jenks, Koch and nurture-those are surely characteristics
tially most rewarding aspect of Mimbres Wyman are missing. In fact, not one of the shared by a host of masking traditions in West
studies, and the reader could hope for more. five or six publications by Jenks is listed. and Central Africa.
His subject distribution table (Table 2) is ex- Mimbres Painted Pottery is the first vol- J. Weldon Smith
tremely helpful and important, yet it doesn't ume of the new Southwest Indian Arts Series MacMurray College
go far enough. The large number of uniden- sponsored by the School of American Re-
tified maminals, birds, insects and fish might search and the University of New Mexico
benefit from the opinions of ornithologists, Press. It is a promising initial effort. Although ANCESTRAL POLYPHONY
icthyologists, etc. There also needs to be a scholars will find little that is new, Brody has
Continued from page 74
more meticulous breakdown of recurring provided an essential synthesis useful to both
motifs within complicated figurative scenes, specialist and layman. Readers will look for- arts in 1972 and his M.F.A. in painting in
e.g., the context of ceremonial curved sticks, ward to further work by Brody on the subject,
1977. Obiora, who is on the teaching staff of
the contents of burden baskets, mask imag- and to other volumes in the series. the Department of Fine and Applied Arts of
ery, and variations in dress and facial mark- Doran H. Ross the University of Nigeria, did not have a typi-
ings. Oakland, California cal village upbringing. In the urban environ-
The symbolic interpretation of motifs ment of Onitsha, he participated in evolutive
featuring a single animal is, of course, dif- AFRICAN RELIGIONS types of children's theater. He carried chil-
ficult at best. Yet, in more complex and de- dren's masquerades, played ogene (a metal
A Symposium
tailed scenes Brody is overly cautious and for gong), took part in stylized formation dances,
Edited by Newell S. Booth
the most part refrains from interpretation, NOK Publishers, New York, 1977.390 pp., 8 and belonged to amakekwu, a satiric
even to the extent of ignoring Fewkes's earlier raconteur-choral group then in vogue.
b/w photos, bibliography, index. $18.50
inconclusive but suggestive parallels with While he was at the university, Obiora
cloth, $5.95 paper.
pueblo ritual and mythology. In his one break started studying traditional art in his home
with caution, Brody postulates relationships This volume is the first work on African reli- town. He closely observed Agulu women
between Mimbres iconography and thePopol gions to contain a serious discussion of the who painted designs on shrines and houses
Vuh, Quiche Mayan creation myths from essential relation between African traditional during festivals. He even commissioned a
highland Guatemala transcribed in 1554 from art and religion. It is no accident that an Afri- painting session in 1972, enabling him to
pictorial manuscripts. His argument is neither can art scholar, Roy Sieber, should provide study. the creative technique of the women at
well-developed nor convincing, and the geo- the initiative. Students of African traditional close quarters. Those familiar with Igbo tradi-
graphic distance between the two areas in religions only recently have come to recog- tional mural designs and decorative body art
itself seems prohibitive. The key to Mimbres nize the pervasiveness of African religions, cannot fail to be impressed with the degree of
iconography is undoubtedly closer to home, and the inadequacy of Western religious competence and perception with which he has

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captured and transformed traditional styles in
his drawings and paintings. Obiora said that at
first he had an academic approach to his ap-
plication of traditional design and style, but
with experience the integration of traditional
elements became a more intuitive process.
Sometimes he discovers that he has produced
traditional features that he never consciously
intended, and the realization of which he can-
not explain.
Obiora strives for pure visual satisfaction in
his work, although often he also makes social
comments. It is his ambition to create a new
type of audience, especially since the modem
Igbo audience is infatuated with the Western
naturalistic art style. He has plans to give an
exhibition in the village to assess how his art
will be received by the traditional audience.
Obiora is committed to maintaining a link
with tradition in his new forms and modes. To
a large extent he has succeeded. A protege of
Uche Okeke, he is now one of the leading 1.
HKcHOKWE, 23.5cm.
23.5cm. 2. YOMBE 29.7cm.2. YOMBE,
3. EMBA 29.7cm. 3.
28.2cm.

Igbo literary artists; he has participated in

seventeen exhibitions, published drawings,
and is popular as an illustrator and theatrical
caveat emptor
designer. He feels that elements of music and
dance are present in his work. Like his Watch for these stolen objects!
"ancestors-of-many-parts," Obiora is also a
published poet and has been involved in a 1. Chokwe mask, 23.5cm. 2. Yombe fly whisk,
number of plays as co-author, designer and 29.7cm. 3. Hemba figure, 28.2cm. 4. Hemba fig-
actor. ure, 65cm. 5. Pende ivory pendant, one of a group,
5.6cm. Stolen from the Institut des Musees Nationaux
Uche Okeke was born in Nimo, Igbo, but
du Zaire, Kinshasa, in December 1977. Notify Joseph
he spent his childhood in Kafanchan in north-
ern Nigeria, where he participated in IgboComet, B.P. 3116, Kinshasa-Gombe, Zaire.
masquerades and music, dancing and playing
6. Kongo figure, wood, 30cm. Stolen from Josef
ogene. His secondary education, however,
Muller, Solothumrn, Switzerland, late 1976 or early
was at Bishop Shannahan College, Orlu, in
1977. This drawing, from a small inadequate snap-
Igboland. Although he did not study drawing
shot, may be inaccurate. The head is detachable.
and painting at school, he had a natural ap-
Notify Irene de Charriere, Barbier-Miller, 4, rue de
titude that his father encouraged. At Orlu hel'Ecole de Chimie, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
also started to write poetry and to collect Igbo
folktales. Uche believes that people away7. Maori pendant. Pale green jade, red sealing wax
from home develop a conscious attitude to- eyes, gold wire around the neck. 12 cm. Identification
ward traditional practices as symbols of No. H-151 laminated in black on the back. Stolen
from Oceanic Primitive Arts on February 21, 1978.
ethnic identity, a view to which I subscribe
and which Chinua Achebe independently ex-Notify Oceanic Primitive Arts, 88 E. 10th St., New
pressed when I interviewed him. York, NY 10003, (212) 982-8060 or Det. Robert
Flanagan, (212) 477-7810. Reward.
Uche's aim is to intepret life in our present
society, which in spite of the accelerated pace 4. HEMBA, 65cm.

of modernization is still much influenced by

Igbo traditional attitudes. That his ideas and
techniques are inspired by Igbo folk thought is
well illustrated in his mythical interpretation
of Igbo folklore in such works as Nza the
Smart (pen and ink, 1958), The Fabled Brute
(oil on board, 1959), and particularly Ubo
Mbe (gouache, 1970).
Uche, who has participated in about 55 art
exhibitions throughout the world, has pub-
lished poems and a book of Igbo folktales
(Tales of Land and Death, 1970). He has
-pr0-duced stage designs for various plays and,
as art adviser and designer, has collaborated
with me in my theatrical productions: A Drop
of Honey (1972; seeAfrican Arts V, 2, 1972),
a contemporary musical, and The Lost Finger
(1973), a mythological musical drama. Al-
though he received training in fine and
applied arts at the Nigerian College of Fine
Arts, Science and Technology in Zaria, Uche
Okeke speaks the language of the traditional
unity of the arts within his special field. He 5. PENDE, 5.6cm. 6. KONGO, 30cm 7 MAORI, 12cm.

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 produced a stage interpretation of Danda Felix Nwuba is the most outstanding Igbo duction. Plays without music or with only
(Nwankwo, 1964) in the Igbo language using choral composer. Like Achebe, while grow- incidental music are not always so well
village actors in Nimo in 1968 and has written ing up in his village in Aguata, he was merely received-the Igbo audience still exhibits the
a mythological Ogbanje drama, Ekeama (Af- an observer of traditional artistic activities fundamental traditional attitudes toward the
rican Arts V, 2, 1972). because his father was a strict Christian con-
arts. Exhibitions of painting and drawing by
The novel has emerged as a new form in vert, although he wanted very much to partic- modern Ibgo artists have not yet attracted an
Igbo art. Starting with Achebe's Things Fall ipate in music and dancing. Felix had his first appreciable audience because they do not in-
Apart (1958), most novelists have concerned active involvement in musical activities as a corporate the other arts. Music hall recitals
themselves with the artistic language of the choirmaster and music master in a village also attract a rather tolerant audience. But
ancestors. Unlike traditional theater in which school. His formal preparation for his role as choral works in which music, language and
the storyteller organized his performance on a composer is Western, and he tries to create movement have been well balanced and inte-
substructure of music and dance, some works that will have international appeal. grated, as well as novels that conjure up visions
novelists have incorporated Igbo performing Felix is conscious of his harmonic-chordal of Igbo life, have been successfully received.
arts into their style of storytelling and in doing selections and progressions and incorporates The Igbo artists I interviewed did not par-
so have succeeded in making their characters the compositional techniques of Baroque ticipate as children in the Igbo cultural arts.
life-like instead of romantic heroes. music. Yet, he confessed, he ends up sound- Their standpoint as observers seems to have
Flora Nwapa, a leading novelist, grew up in ing Igbo without striving consciously to re- been their strength rather than their handicap
the village of Oguta. She comes from a flect Igbo forms and idioms. This is no doubt as artists consciously or intuitively transmit-
staunch Christian home and was discouraged partly due to his texts, which are in Igbo, and ting traditional ideas and forms in literary
by her parents from participating in any tradi- partly due to the qualities he absorbed as an creations. The modern Igbo artist still
tional arts. She has no desire to explore the acutely interested, although detached, ob- cherishes traditional values in the arts as re-
other arts. On the other hand, writer Chinua server of the folk forms. flections of the social scene. Most Pop/export
Achebe, who helped to bring Flora out as a Felix has two creative approaches. When artists seem to have deviated from the ances-
novelist, feels drawn toward other art forms; he sets a given text (often Biblical) to music or tral foundation, and the audience therefore de-
he said that occasionally he finds his lack of arranges folk tunes, he is limited in his range rives only ephemeral entertainment from it;
fluency in them a factor inhibiting the full of artistic expression. When he writes original although Pop/export art purports to portray
realization of his creative vision. Flora has texts, he expresses his feelings about his envi- society, it makes little social impact. The con-
written two novels, Idu (African Arts I, 4, ronment and uses music to make commen- temporary Igbo artist, whether traditional,
1968), and Efuru, a sedate account about life taries about society. Whenever possible, evolutive, Pop or literary, whose works
in Oguta, where the water deity is an active Felix prefers to teach and conduct his compos- exhibit features of Igbo traditional concepts
force in the lives of the people. itions himself. Moved by a desire to unite all about the arts, has so far been accorded rec-
Chinua Achebe, who has remained the the arts, he thinks of dance steps and move-ognition by society. O
foremost Igbo novelist, grew up in Ogidi vil- ments when he composes and regrets that he
lage. His father, a strict Christian, was a has so far been unable to achieve in his choral
FAGALY, Notes, from page 27
school and church teacher. Chinua partici- works the total theater he observed in Igbo1. One of the most notable objects in the Kiam colle
pated in traditional artistic activities traditional art. Nevertheless, Felix as a liter-18th-century Hawaiian figure possibly used as a Kuka'i
proximately 90 centimeters high and collected by Cap
whenever he could escape his father's vigi- ary raconteur has achieved a strong balanceCook on his third visit to the islands in 1778-79. This rare wood
lance. He believes that the detached attitude between story line and music, whereas somesculpture is included in "Artificial Curiosities," the current exhibi-
tion at the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, which commemorates Cook's
imposed on him by this Christian background of his contemporary literary colleagues have voyages. In addition to his ethnic collections, Victor Kiam collected
must have fostered the objective and analyti- reflected the more traditional style of telling the
a work of such modem masters as Miro, Picasso, Braque and
Dubuffet.
cal insight evident in his novels. The many story through music.
2. The pegged hinges at the top and bottom of the right side of the
passages in Things Fall Apart, No Longer at As the son of one of the first Christians in door have been sawed off, and the front surface has been altered with
an abrasive cleaner.
Ease, and The Arrow of God, where the story my village, Nnewi, I also was an observer
3. Personal communication, September 16, 1976.
line unfolds vividly through music and dance instead of a participant in Igbo cultural 4. Personal communication on September 16, 1976. Other doors
scenes, strongly reveal traditional philosophy events. My longings to be like my peers led with remarkably similar designs, possibly by the same carver, are in
the collection of former Vice President and Mrs. Nelson Rockefeller
about the arts. Chinua thinks that the success me to participate surreptitiously, although I and the Schindler collection at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The
of his novels can be due to the fact that he aims received a flogging if I was caught. As a element of the smaller fish in turn devouring a serpent is not present
in the other known examples, and its meaning remains unclear. A
at recreating social dynamics as truthfully as school headmaster, my father lived and Baule door in the Musei des Arts Africains et Oceaniins in Paris
possible, using village life as the source and worked in different parts of Igboland. This depicts the common Baule and Ashanti goldweight motif of a serpent
gripping the head of a crocodile.
background for his stories. For instance, dur- exposed me to many variants of Igbo cultural
5. In a private collection.
ing my interview with him, Chinua referred to practices. 6. In the collection of the Memorial Art Gallery, University of
the principals in his novels as living people My formal music education started when I Rochester, New York.
7. Personal communication, February 22, 1978. Siegmann writes,
whose thoughts and actions he merely entered the university. Although I have "In Liberia the Toma are known as Loma, the difference in spelling
documented. neither read any books about drama nor taken based on slight dialect differences. They live in the region of
Macenta in Guinea to Zorzor in Liberia and are divided into several
Chinua is impressed by the strong synthesis any courses in theater arts, I am recognized
subgroups who differ only slightly in terms of dialect, culture and art
of the arts in Igbo traditional art forms. He has more for my music-drama works than for any forms. The more northern groups of Toma are sometimes called Buzi
by outsiders, though this is regarded as a perjorative term by the
also recognized dance as a powerful medium isolated musical compositions. I write both the
Loma themselves. This northern group of Toma, or Buzi,' share
pervading Igbo life, and in his novels, the plays and the music, direct the actors and mask forms with the Gbande (Bandi) who are their northern and
imagery of the dance gives theatrical pace to musicians, and produce the dances as well. I western neighbors, and speak a closely related language. Some of
these masks are also shared by the Kissi. "
his storytelling. But Chinua does not see a design my costumes and stage properties, 8. Personal communication, February 22, 1978.
link between the modem Igbo novelist and the often in conjuction with Uche Okeke or 9. Dr. Eberhard Fischer, Director of the Museum Rietberg, Zurich,
reports two similar pieces in the ethnographic collection of the
traditional storyteller. He would rather regard Obiora Udechukwu. All my productions have
University of Ghent, Belgium, and another in a Swiss private collec-
the novel as an additional creative form than a been conceived in the traditional vision: a tion. Personal communication, July 27, 1976.
10. Personal communication, July 26, 1973.
continuation of the traditional Igbo art form. synthesis of music, drama, and dance. Some
11. Personal communication, December 14, 1976.
Whereas the traditional minstrel tells his story are musical comments on contemporary Igbo
12. Personal communication, July 26, 1973.
in music and dance (recitative, light musical society, while others are labeled music-
13. Personal communication, March 1976.
14. Small portions have been restored.
accompaniment, expressive dance motions, drama, the themes of which are mythological15. Personal communication, July 28, 1976.
musical and dance bridges, and mime ges- or based on traditional Igbo life style. 16. Personal communication, August 4, 1976.

tures) Chinua Achebe and other Igbo My experiences as a musician/dramatist

17. Personal communication, July 28, 1976, and March 9, 1977.
18. Personal communication, July 28, 1976, and March 9, 1977.
novelists exhibit a preference for the written who is active in production show that the
FAGALY, Bibliography
mode as against the acted mode. The artistic Cole, Herbert M. and Doran H. Ross. 1977. The Arts of Ghana.
average modem Igbo audience is most enthu-
University of California, Los Angeles.
principles, however, are the same. siastic about a multidimensional stage pro-
Fagg, William. 1969. "The African Artist," Tradition and Creativ-

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