Cleveland Museum of Art

Shrine Figure (Ikenga)

Date

possibly early 1900s

Medium

Wood, organic materials, and raffia

Culture

Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Igbo carver

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This seated figure of a man holding a cutlass and an inverted human skull is a cult object called ikenga , associated with achievement and success. Standing at the center of a man’s personal shrine, the sculpture receives prayers and sacrifices in return for the ancestors’ guidance. An elaborate headdress comprising two horn-like extensions reinforces the cult’s preoccupation with masculinity, while facial incisions known as ichi refer to membership in one of many male associations. This figure associated with achievement and success would have received prayers and sacrifices in return for the guidance of ancestors.

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