Igbo, Nigeria

Ikenga Sculpture

Stained Wood

1970s

Private Collection

Igbo (Nigeria)

Carved Door (mgbo ezi)

Wood

20th Century

Tang Art Collection – Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William Simmons

        The Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria place a strong emphasis on individual success and achievement. Their Ikenga figures help to foster such goals.  The word ikenga roughly translates to mean power in the right hand, and refers to a time when men were heavily engaged in warfare with neighboring factions.  Hence the knife motif that ikenga figures are often shown holding in their right hand.   However, ikenga are believed to bring about success and good fortune in many aspects of one’s life.  In recent years, a young man could even appeal to his ikenga for success in college.  Although the Igbo do not believe ikengas determine their destiny, they revere these sculptures to ensure a continuously successful life.                                      

        Men would typically place their ikenga sculptures in the huts where they sleep, or in shrines in their meeting houses.  Male carvers produce ikenga,  first with the use of an adze to carve out the general form, and then a chisel to create patterns of gouges in the hardwood. 

        The Igbo consider wood a masculine material. Likewise, the types of decoration one sees on ikenga figures are male symbols of status and power.  The parallel line marks on the forehead of the sculpture are referred to as ichi, the Igbo word for head.  Traditionally, this form of scarification would have been applied to the forehead of Igbo men to signify their rank as titleholders. The pipe the ikenga is smoking and his ram’s horns also represent masculinity as well as age and physical prowess.  For the Igbo people, masculinity is not embodied physically, but rather through symbols which stand for achievement within the male social sphere.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Lani Shufelt ’02