Male Shrine Figure

This shrine figure depicts a nature spirit (edjo) in the form of a mythic, victorious warrior and community founder. The warrior's swelling chest and forehead, forceful gaze, jutting jaw and bared teeth express male aggression and the region's warrior ethos. The medicine-filled gourd held in his hand ensures military success, while facial scarification, massive ivory cuffs and beads about his neck and shoulders signify titled authority. Originally wearing a white wrapper, this founding warrior and his family formed a tableaux of edjo shrine figures encrusted with white chalk denoting spiritual purity and the luminous ancestral realm.