Terracotta Sculptures from Obalara's Compound, Ile-Ife

Abstract

In the ancient city of Ile-Ife, once described as a museum of buried there are people whose job to report the discovery of antiquities, which have often been unearthed during the construction of roads, houses, or in the digging of cisterns. In Ile-Ife, antiquity clubs or societies are encouraged and ably directed, so that damage to these objects may be lessened. In addition, local museums educate the people on the need to report accidental finds to competent authorities. An active member of the Ife Antiquities Discoverer's Club, Mr. Isola Blubanji, came to my house on the night of April 13, 1976, to tell me that he saw two boys on Obalufon Street playing with some strangely decorated potsherds. When I arrived at the site, the two boys had already unsuccessfully dug out a terracotta head that was broken into tiny pieces (No. OC1, Fig. 1), and they were in the process of digging for another terracotta head (No. OC2, Fig. 2). The terracotta head fragments (OC1) are made of red clay in the typical Ife naturalistic style, and have facial striations. The second find (OC2) also executed in the naturalistic style. It about 32 centimeters high and in the form of a mask with side holes (in pairs) around the hairline to attach it to the wearer's head during ritual ceremonies. It also has facial striations, as well as a beard and moustache. Unlike other Ife terracotta heads (Eluyemi 1975:32), the lower lip unstriated. Below the eyes are slits reminiscent of the so-called Obalufon brass mask (Willett 1967, p. 29) now in the Ife Museum of Antiquities through which, perhaps, the maskwearer sees. The shapes of the upper and lower lips on these two objects are similar; also two rows of holes between the chin and the ear indicate that the brass head once had a beard. Unlike the terracotta head, however, the Obalufon brass mask unstriated and has no moustache or headdress. In the terracotta head, the headdress consists of decorative beaded rows in five layers. The first layer, which encircles the forehead, three centimeters high. The remaining tiers become more narrow as they slope up and back. As far as we know, the intact terracotta example, which weighs 4.52 kilograms, the single biggest terracotta head ever discovered in Ife. It also the first one with such a striking and unique resemblance to any known brass object of Ife. The brass mask said to represent Obalufon II (Willett 1967:pl. 1), the third ooni (king) of Ife. Ife oral tradition teaches that Obalufon was the father of Obalara, and today, Obalara still the chief priest in charge of the Obalufon deity. It noteworthy that the terracotta head had come from Obalufon compound, now known as Obalara's compound. The site of the discovery about twenty meters away from the shrine harboring the deity of Obalufon. Scholars of African art history have not yet determined the exact function of Ife naturalism. Rowland Abiodun (1975:135) once suggested that this naturalism may not necessarily owe its existence to Oba-ship; any conclusions, however, may be premature at this stage. One should then accept with reservations the idea that the Ife brass mask a representation of a specific person, the ooni Obalufon. As a matter of tradition, the Yoruba are never seen in public. Their faces were usually veiled to indicate their immortal status; that why the Yoruba say, Oba wa'ja (the disappears, i.e., they do not die). That which cannot be publicly seen cannot be represented in art forms. Abiodun says that the when alive is regarded as sacred and at his death there even more greater secrecy and mystery surrounding his (1974:138). His office may be represented, but the person occupying the office may not. One may therefore conclude that the terracotta head may not have represented Obalufon, even if it comes from Obalara's compound. For the past thirty years or so, since archaeological research started in Ile-Ife, emphasis has mistakenly been laid on the sculptural aspects of Ife archaeology. The University of Ife has recently embarked upon a new strategy in archaeological research methodology. It designed to place more emphasis on the cultural aspect; that is, to extract information from scientifically excavated sites with a view to contributing to the cultural history of the Yoruba people. We intend to carry out an archaeological excavation of the site at which these finds were