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Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò - Culture (3) - Nairaland

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Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ChinenyeN(m): 5:58pm On Aug 02, 2012
Alright. Thanks once again, Ezeagu.
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by PAGAN9JA(m): 6:29pm On Aug 02, 2012
are there any pictures of Igbo priests and their attires

1 Like

Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 9:57pm On Aug 02, 2012
PAGAN 9JA:
are there any pictures of Igbo priests and their attires

Maybe in another thread.
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 9:59pm On Aug 02, 2012
Doors of title men (ozo) from the Nri-Oka region.

[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=6085[/img]

TITLE Ozo titled man's door & panels
CITY Ifite Nnokwa
CE DATE OF CONSTRUCTION 1966
DATE OF PHOTOGRAPH 1973
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:00pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=6062[/img]

TITLE Ozo titled man's door & panels
CITY Nnobi
PHOTOGRAPHER Herbert M. Cole
DATE OF PHOTOGRAPH 1973
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:05pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=6007[/img]

TITLE Ozo titled man's door & panels
CITY Nnobi
PHOTOGRAPHER Herbert M. Cole
DATE OF PHOTOGRAPH 1973
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:06pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=6017[/img]

TITLE house of tutelary diety
ARCHITECT/BUILDER Igbo peoples
NATION Nigeria
SITE SE Nigeria
CITY Omoliko Abatete
PHOTOGRAPHER Herbert M. Cole
DATE OF PHOTOGRAPH 1973
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:08pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=6032[/img]

TITLE Titled woman's house
ARCHITECT/BUILDER Igbo peoples
NATION Nigeria
SITE SE Nigeria
DETAIL exterior
CITY Ifite Nnokwa
CE DATE OF CONSTRUCTION built ca 1923
PHOTOGRAPHER Herbert M. Cole
DATE OF PHOTOGRAPH 1973
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:14pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=6034[/img]

TITLE Diviner's shrine
ARCHITECT/BUILDER Igbo peoples
NATION Nigeria
SITE SE Nigeria
CITY Umuoye Etche
CE DATE OF CONSTRUCTION built ca 1960
PHOTOGRAPHER Herbert M. Cole
DATE OF PHOTOGRAPH 1973
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:16pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=6087[/img]

TITLE Mbari shrine house
ARCHITECT/BUILDER Igbo peoples
NATION Nigeria
SITE SE Nigeria
DETAIL Front side at Ndiama Obube.
CITY Near Owerri
CE DATE OF CONSTRUCTION (built ca '62) 1966
PHOTOGRAPHER Herbert M. Cole
DATE OF PHOTOGRAPH 1973
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:18pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=6015[/img]

TITLE Mbari shrine house
ARCHITECT/BUILDER Igbo peoples
NATION Nigeria
SITE SE Nigeria
DETAIL Front side at Eziala Inyelogugu
CITY Near Owerri
CE DATE OF CONSTRUCTION built ca 1961
NOTES To Ala. Ala is an Igbo spiritual force.
PHOTOGRAPHER Herbert M. Cole
DATE OF PHOTOGRAPH 1973
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:20pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=6037[/img]

TITLE compound of the diety Ulassi
ARCHITECT/BUILDER Igbo peoples
NATION Nigeria
SITE SE Nigeria
CITY Umuona
CE DATE OF CONSTRUCTION 1966
PHOTOGRAPHER Herbert M. Cole
DATE OF PHOTOGRAPH 1973
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:21pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=6066[/img]

TITLE compound of Eke
ARCHITECT/BUILDER Igbo peoples
NATION Nigeria
SITE SE Nigeria
DETAIL entrance to compound
CITY Ifite Nnokwa
CE DATE OF CONSTRUCTION 1966
PHOTOGRAPHER Herbert M. Cole
DATE OF PHOTOGRAPH 1973
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:22pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/buildings&CISOPTR=6002[/img]

TITLE Titled man's Obi (meeting house/shrine)
ARCHITECT/BUILDER Igbo peoples
NATION Nigeria
SITE SE Nigeria
DETAIL exterior
CITY Ifite Nnokwa
CE DATE OF CONSTRUCTION 1966
STYLE vernacular
NOTES Titled man's Obe (meeting house/shrine)
PHOTOGRAPHER Herbert M. Cole
DATE OF PHOTOGRAPH 1973
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:26pm On Aug 02, 2012
If you would like to know more about Igbo (or Oratta) spiritual architecture, there's a whole book dedicated to it:

[img]http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/images/books/9780253303974_med.jpg[/img]

Mbari
Art and the Life Among the Owerri Igbo
Herbert M. Cole
Distribution: World
Publication date: 4/1/1982
Format: cloth 6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-253-30397-4

"One of the most fascinating artistic phenomena in tropical Africa, mbari houses are little known outside Igboland. Art historian Herbert M. Cole has drawn from his extensive research in eastern Nigeria to produce the first book-length study of this unusual art form. Cole describes the building of a mbari mud house to honor the gods, a process rich in tradition and ritual, marked by body painting, drumming, dancing, singing, and chanting. The ecology, socio-cultural systems, and religion of the Owerri area are examined as a backdrop to the elaborate stage of the building process, which may take up to two years to complete.

Illustrated with rare field photographs and superb line drawings, this volume describes and interprets mbari houses not as isolated works of art but as monuments growing out of, and expressive of, the values and beliefs of Owerri Igbo culture."
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:32pm On Aug 02, 2012
From that book someone wrote a summary with some of the pictures below. Visit at: http://www.radford.edu/~rbarris/art427%20African%20Diaspora/EIU%20African%20Art%20folder/mbarishrines.htm

Ala the earth Godess in Mbari near Owere.

http://www.radford.edu/~rbarris/art427%20African%20Diaspora/EIU%20African%20Art%20folder/mb1.jpg

"Mbari shrines are deliberately temporary or transitory, made in response to community crises such as famine or warfare. The shrine, built at the tiime of crisis, becomes a symbol of regeneration and the shrine itself may be correctly thought of as process rather than built form.

The decision to build begins with a request from the god, often Ala, who begins to cause problems like drought or storms or unexplained deaths.

A commitment is made and sealed through ceremony and sacrifice; a key part of the sealing ceremony involves tying the skulls of sacrificed goats to a rod of iron which signifies strength and wealth and supernatural powers; during the period of building everyone must obey the stringent laws of the god; if not, the sacrificed goat provides an example of what will happen to the person who does not.

Once the contract is sealed, an artist/craftsman is chosen who will guide the building and its design; the work is thought of in ways that are similar to the notion of a commission: he will be paid for the work and he bargains for his price; later, other fees are added through rituals; if a village does not have its own artist, it will send for one from a distant village.

The artists do not appear to do the work for the desire to create; they do it for the money and in some cases, because they do not feel capable of doing anything else. This is their job. But although it cannot be said that the artist has sought the opportunity to "create," it can be said that the artist aims for the highest level of skill and that this may be as much of a motivation as the salary.

Next, the workers are chosen, some as an honor and some as a form of penance for some offense committed by the worker's family. The workers are thought of as the agbara slave because their work will involve a commitment of about two years during which time the worker will live in the area fenced off for the mbari. But he will not die during this time. For their initiation, the workers must walk across a long pathway of narrow iron bars laid side by side without touching the ground; if he fails, he cannot be a worker.

Following this initial ritual, others are necessary before the work begins; these rites serve two primary purposes: they identify the workers by a physical "costume"-incised marks on their skin-and they are supposed to make the bodies strong. The combination of body scarring and special clothing for the workers makes them look, as one worker said, like "carved and painted figures."

For 24 days from the period of walking the irons, the workers live in a secluded group, unseen by anyone else. At the end of the period, they are said to be "killed out" which signifies a ceremonial exiting from the seclusion, a feast, and a ritual rebirth; they can now be seen by others although they continue to live in the area of the mbari building which now begins."

http://www.radford.edu/~rbarris/art427%20African%20Diaspora/EIU%20African%20Art%20folder/mb2.jpg
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:34pm On Aug 02, 2012
"Mbari plan"

[img]http://4.bp..com/-SPANqYqLfiI/TnaAJJjTfbI/AAAAAAAAAmc/QZm_wuIggGI/s1600/mbari-plan.jpg[/img]

"PLAN SHOWING THE PLACEMENT OF FIGURES AND VARIOUS KINDS OF ARCHITECTURAL SET-BACKS EMPLOYED TO INCREASE THE ILLUSION OF SIZE. THE MBARI, WITH THIRTY-FOUR FIGURES INCLUDING THE HEAD SPEERING THROUGH WINDOWS (RIGHT SIDE NEAREST CENTER), IS OF AVERAGE SIZE. THE MBARI TO OBIALA AT NDIAMA OBUBE. ARTIST: NNAJI."

— Herbert M. Cole

Location: Obiala, Alaigbo
Date: 1969
Credit: Nnaji, Cole
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:36pm On Aug 02, 2012
Where is Ihale?

Entrance of a building

[img]http://2.bp..com/-nqNVx7zgu2s/TqdsvFcsUQI/AAAAAAAAAvk/-PAJexzDG4c/s1600/Doors.jpg[/img]

Location: Ihale (Ihiala?)
Date: 1880-1939
Credit: J Stöcker
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:37pm On Aug 02, 2012
Ala, goddess of the earth

[img]http://2.bp..com/-3wBhdqi-HjE/TqSc9cVqIgI/AAAAAAAAAtE/zE0ETu_fwwY/s1600/AN00059348_001_l.jpg[/img]

Location: ?Unknown?
Date: 1927-1943
Credit: Edward Rowland Chadwick
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:38pm On Aug 02, 2012
Mbari house

[img]http://1.bp..com/-0dbJNpfuOvI/TqScPky8K_I/AAAAAAAAAsU/Gq4fKWSZmI8/s1600/AN00053841_001_l.jpg[/img]

A more dressed down Mbari.

Location: ?Unknown?
Date: 1927-1943
Credit: Edward Rowland Chadwick
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:39pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://4.bp..com/-o9uM6jkdorM/T8Vkx5aNqVI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/KsXZn2iwkgI/s1600/Mbari-3.jpg[/img]

Mbari

Location: ?Unknown?, Alaigbo
Date: ?Unknown?, Before 1904
Credit: A. A. Whitehouse
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:40pm On Aug 02, 2012
"FESTIVAL OF IMAGES"

[img]http://1.bp..com/-DCoO5dJ5BxU/TjleBgf7FKI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/Nsz6xygumT8/s1600/igbo%2Bimages.png[/img]

"A "FESTIVAL OF IMAGES" IN HONOR OF EKE AT ORERI INCLUDES ABOUT THIRTY-FIVE MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY (SOME OUT OF THE PICTURE). WORSHIPPERS OFFER KOLA NUTS OR MONEY TO THE VARIOUS DEITIES."

— Cole

Location: Oraeri, Umueri, Alaigbo
Date: 1969
Credit: Cole
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:45pm On Aug 02, 2012
[img]http://4.bp..com/-J47kNYiSjKw/TjGcqWN3nbI/AAAAAAAAAew/eeKTVt5va5g/s600/Igbo%2Bhippo.png[/img]

A FANCIFUL HIPPOPOTAMUS GLORIFIED WITH ABSTRACT PATTERNS REMINISCENT OF DESIGNS PAINTED ON WOMEN'S BODIES. IN THE MBARI TO AFO AT UMUAHIAGU. ARTIST: AKAKPORO.

— Herbert M. Cole

Umuahiagu
Date: 1969
Credit: Herbert M. Cole
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:50pm On Aug 02, 2012
Decoration of Ibo Houses

[img]http://1.bp..com/-qqWJHjUaX08/TWAuPFbypEI/AAAAAAAAAPo/YuQchCwFB04/s1600/Note%2Bon%2BIbo%2BHouse%2B2.jpg[/img]

Location: ?Unsure?, Alaigbo
Date: ?Unsure?, Before 1916
Credit: P. Amaury Talbot
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:50pm On Aug 02, 2012
Town Deities [Alusi], Adonta, Near Ogwashi [Ukwu]

[img]http://2.bp..com/_jeBv7EEofYQ/TLpuQ2VO70I/AAAAAAAAAGw/VqsA45sbkA8/s1600/town-deities.jpg[/img]

Location: Adonta, Aniocha, Alaigbo
Date: ?Unsure?, Before 1921
Credit: Basden
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:59pm On Aug 02, 2012
Carved figures in Obu, Asaga Ohafia

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/jones/igbo/asaga7.JPG[/img]

Shrine priest poses in the obu, G. I. Jones.
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:46pm On Aug 03, 2012
"The intricately carved doors of the Igbo people of Nigeria form a third impressive group. Carved of a sacred hardwood, iroko, for major patrons, they served as entrance portals to an obi, the male meeting house. Iroko wood is associated with males, power and certain mysteries. The tree's spirit is ritually placated before felling. The large planks were extremely difficult to make. The doors are distinguished by the careful chip carving into V-shaped grooves and the contrasts of plain with densely carved areas. Our collection of 20 doors plus two side panels is exceptional with most showing complex patterns and generations of slow weathering."





These doors are probably from the Anambra area as well.

http://www.hamillgallery.com/IGBO/IgboDoors/IgboDoors.html
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:54pm On Aug 03, 2012
Carved door

[img]http://2.bp..com/-HSTaxH44VbQ/TnZ-SKuRM4I/AAAAAAAAAmU/tLl7Ozux9CQ/s600/doors-mud.jpg[/img]


THE CARVED DOOR AND MODELED AND POLISHED WALLS OF EKE'S COMPOUND IN UMUONA.


— Herbert M. Cole

Location: Umuona, Alaigbo
Date: 1969
Credit: Cole
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:56pm On Aug 03, 2012
Okpangu (in an Oratta Igbo, near Owere, Mbari).

[img]http://2.bp..com/-1Vk_RtrldJY/TjlapCf6QkI/AAAAAAAAAfI/PEn9IuMB3uY/s600/Okpangu.png[/img]

THE MYTHICAL APE-MAN OKPANGU. MBARI AT UMUOKEADA ISU OBIANGWU.

— Cole

Location:Umuokeada Isu Obiangwu
Date: 1969
Credit: Cole
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 10:58pm On Aug 03, 2012
Mbari House

[img]http://1.bp..com/-14-lQHLZVlM/TZdEdjUFAOI/AAAAAAAAASY/Q0ujbECIux8/s600/Mbari%2BHouse.jpg[/img]

The author with the priest-in-charge of the Mbari house at Ulakwọ, January, 1935. The priest, as will be noticed, is a dwarf.

Location: Ulakwọ, Alaigbo
Date: January, 1935
Credit: Basden

Notice the, what I assume to be, Mbari in the background. Also I believe in many Igbo regions dwarfs were revered and seen as sacred.
Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 11:01pm On Aug 03, 2012
Detail on door similar to the one already posted. They are carved the same, but the patterns are never alike.

Re: Igbo Architecture | Ụlọ omé n'Ìgbò by ezeagu(m): 11:04pm On Aug 03, 2012
Ngusu Ada Igbo (southern Igbo)

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/jones/ada/ada11.JPG[/img]

"Obu Ngusu Ada (meeting house)" G. I. Jones.

There are apparently stone stairs leading to the meeting house. Maybe this was widespread, or maybe it's unique. Either way there isn't any attention drawn towards them on the page I got this picture from, but the angle G. I. Jones took (far away from the actual meeting house) suggests that he was documenting them as a significant part of the architecture and not just an accident.

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