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Gender Specific Itchi and
Uli Designs Every
culture decorates, covers, exposes, or alters the body to convey social
norms and declare social messages. Many
of the meanings associated with the particular adornment are constructed
by society, although the origins of the mode of adornment may be a mystery. Nevertheless, while society, as an entity distinct
of the individual, controls the significance of the way we embellish our
bodies, it is the individuals in society who uphold and reinforce the
meanings of embellishment. It
is with these principles in mind that I would like to consider the form
of body decoration made by the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria, who execute
and display different types of body decoration based on status and gender
roles. As emphasized at the Tang Teaching Museum and
Art Gallery exhibit, Africa Embodied:
The Language of Adornment, the explanation of African adornment is
merely a western interpretation and can not be fully understood by outsiders
of the community. Yet, we share
a common ground in that body decoration is a way of communicating specific
ideas that were created by society and advocated by people. Itchi and Uli The
Igbo people of the past, and a few today, performed body scarification
and body painting called itchi and
uli, respectively. Traditionally, itchi scarification was performed by and onto men, while uli painting was learned by girls and women
to paint onto other women. There
is evidence of the use of these types of gender-specific body decoration
on the opposite gender, but for the purposes of this paper I will only
focus on the more common respective gender.
The use of these designs extended beyond the body to influence
the decoration of daily ritual objects, shrine objects, sculptural status
programs, and ornamental wall painting.
This paper focuses on two objects that manifest these designs:
the ikenga spirit sculptures
owned by men, which exhibit itchi on their foreheads; and household carved doors, also owned by
men, containing designs inspired by itchi
scarification and uli body
and wall painting. Ikenga and Itchi Igbo
society lacks a centralized authority (Bentor 1988: 69), but is based
on personal success and achievement, and emphasized by of the ozo title system. Just as
ikenga held objects of status to communicate
its owner’s rank, so too did itchi
marks. Men who gain admittance
into the ozo title system, a special group of the leading men of
the society, received itchi marks on their foreheads. The term itchi, in fact, refers to the head, so it is fitting
that these vertical striations would be placed on a man’s forehead.
Some Igbo communities charged title fees in order for a boy to
receive itchi marks, thus the
mere fact that his father could afford the scarification (Cole and Aniakor
1977: 35) represented his father’s personal achievement. The process of creating the parallel lines
or crescent shapes with a sharp knife had to be incised deep enough into
the skin of the forehead so as to create permanent raised scars. The experience was quite painful, but represented
a young man’s courage (Cole and Aniakor 1977: 35), another characteristic
valued by the Igbo. Uli
One
can recognize uli body painting
by its characteristic curvilinear and/or dot patterns and dark blue or
black color when the paint oxidized and stained the skin.
Different plant species, for which uli
is a prefix (Willis 1989: 62), provide a brownish liquid from their seeds
(Cole and Aniakor 1977: 39). Women
would use a sliver of wood or the tip of a knife to apply the paint, which
stains the skin for approximately eight days (Willis 1989: 62). Typically, the designs were described as elegant as they traveled
around different parts of the body. It
was said that the artist’s desire was to create harmony, clarity, and
precise marks that were compatible with the body, all of which remarked
on a woman’s morality (Willis 1989: 65). Uli designs on girls’ and women’s bodies
were very much created to represent her welfare and beauty (Willis 1989:
65). The uli artist would choose the most suiting patterns and motifs to emphasize
the attractive aspects of her body, and to hide areas of imperfection.
For example, a smaller woman with less layers of fat may have more
patterns and bolder ones on that area of her body to disguise her slimness.
The Igbo saying, “A girl entering marriage has beautified her body
with uli; uli
has faded and beauty has gone,” further exemplifying the idea of beauty
and the making of uli as an
artistic expression (Cole and Aniakor 1977: 46). Carved Doors, Itchi, and Uli
Igbo
carved doors, although produced by and for men, display designs culminating
these two artistic expressions, as well as ideas from the male social
fields. The designs carved onto
the doors, which stood as an entranceway into the household, reveal both
vertical striations of itchi and
curved, organic designs of uli. Nancy Neaher asserts that these doors represented
both status and success in fertility (1981: 54). Obtaining a carved door (through commissioning
men specialized in the making of carved doors) was restricted to the few
men who had achieved the highest rank in ozo (Neaher 1981: 50). Men
who achieved this rank of ozo were
encouraged to have many wives and children, who would be generously provided
for, as well as the rest of the kin group (umunna)
based around the ozo member. Thus, as Neaher says, “…this interplay of male-female
motifs echoes the status of familial relationships that structure a person’s
associations and responsibilities throughout his life” (1981: 54). In a very simplistic sense, she is saying that
the relationship of uli designs
imbedded in itchi designs on
carved doors represent male-female responsibilities.
The ozo father, who has
obtained a special rank and endowed the kin in the patrilineal society
with status through association, must retain familial harmony, while the
mother is responsible for continuing the line of descendents. Conclusion
The
description of itchi and uli designs as differentiated by male and
female arts, respectively, is in no way an indication of concrete male
and female roles within the Igbo society.
Rather, the purpose was to have an understanding of traditional
and common uses of the two forms of body decoration. Many women had itchi marks
to represent a titled status, emphasizing the importance of women as achievers.
During a period of seclusion, males are fattened, signifying an
aesthetic value, and are painted with uli
designs when becoming a member of the Ozo
institution, thereby distinguishing him from others in the community and
representing his achievements (Willis 1989: 65).
Thus, one’s social identity is composed of many characteristics;
men’s identities are not purely based on achievements, nor are women’s
identities purely based on aesthetics.
The above descriptions of itchi and uli are not all-encompassing, as the two forms of decoration have
many further implications and may never be entirely understood by a westerner
such as myself. Yet, these ideas
should not be a foreign concept in the social sphere of the purpose of
body adornment in any given society.
□ Lani Shufelt '02
BibliographyBentor,
Eli
Boston,
John
Cole,
Herbert M. and Chike C. Aniako., 1984, Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos.
Los Angeles: UCLA
Museum
of Cultural History.
Neaher,
Nancy.
Willis,
Liz |
