Aworan: Representing the Self and Its Metaphysical Other in Yoruba Art

Abstract

This paper draws attention to the link between art and language in Yoruba society. It then focuses on the ontological, mnemonic, and ritual significance of aworan (visual representation) and the social, religious, and artistic conventions that influence the practice, modes, and reception of portraiture. The paper also examines the complex interaction between visual representation (aworan) and the beholder (aworan), underscoring the fact that in Yoruba society, the act of looking and seeing (iworan) is determined as much by individual responses to specific representations or spectacles as by culturally constructed modes of perceiving and interpreting reality.