Lamidi Fakeye: Exploring Yoruba Mythology through Art

Lamidi Fakeye was born in 1928 in Ila Orangun, Nigeria, into a family line of woodcarvers. He began his training as an apprentice to his father in 1938 and would later go on to be mentored by a catholic priest. He joined the faculty of University of Ife in 1978. He served as the artist-in-residence at a number of universities in the USA and died in 2009.

House post with warrior and fertility figure
His works, largely of Yoruba mythology, depict some of the beliefs still being held today in various royal settings across the Yoruba land. This explains why works of Fakeye and some other carvers are used as part of architectural aesthetics in palaces and buildings of some elite.

The God of Music
Notice the god of Music in motion beating the traditional gangan drum....

....with the child clinging and enjoying the melodies.....

....and the musician above blowing a horn.

Ìlàrí Sàngó
All sub-courts of Oyo had Ilari who acted as both spies and taxmen.

Sango is the god of thunder in ancient Yoruba Kingdoms. This work depicts an Ilari Sango.

Sàngó
The ancestral Sàngó, in Yoruba chronology, was the fourth king of ancient Oyo town who is regarded and revered as a major deity of the indigenous religion of the Yoruba people. He is popularly known as the god of thunder, fire and lightening as these are the natural forces associated with him.

On his hand is his most prominent ritual symbol called Oshe, a double-headed battle-axe which is a symbol of war and justice. Beneath his feet is a devotee prostrating as a sign of his loyalty.

Beneath his feet is a devotee prostrating as a sign of his loyalty

Behind him is a bata drum player praising and cheering him on with music as he wields his power.

Notice the dog, which is also a strong spiritual symbol in Yoruba culture, beside him.The worship of Sango is still common in parts of Yoruba land today.