Isomoloruko Yoruba Cultural Documentary

Olówè of Isè - Yoruba Art, Culture & Tradition

Olowe of Ise was born about 1875 in Efon-Alaiye, a town in eastern Yorubaland that was once a kingdom and one of the most important centers of Yoruba carving. Olowe moved to Ise at a young age to serve the Arinjale (king) as a court messenger. The details of his early life and training in sculpture are not known. His descendants claim he was self-taught, but it is likely that he learned the Yoruba canon and perfected his carving skills during an apprenticeship.

Nicholas Hely Hutchinson

Nicholas Hely Hutchinson

Tosin Olakanye-Olayemi Has Successfully Beaten It.(Female Drummer)

Ayanbinrin: Time to groom female drummers by Akeem Lasisi

In Yorubaland, many drummers easily lay claim to coming from a family of drummers. They enjoy saying it so proudly that they have a drum proverb for it: ‘Iran igun nii jebo/ Iran akala a joku/ Iran baba mi/ Ilu nii lu’. This means ‘The family of the eagle relishes sacrifice/ That of the vulture enjoys dead bodies/ But my own family are renowned drummers.

Video: KINGDOM OF IFE

KINGDOM OF IFE

VIDEO: Nigerian Ife Art on Display in Houston

A collection of more than 100 items of African art is now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the first stop in a U.S. tour of rare art works from Nigeria's Ife region.

The exhibition is called Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria and features many objects that museum visitors may find surprising. Curator Frances Marzio said, "Ife early on protected its patrimony and these objects have, for the most part, never even been outside of Nigeria."

One of the biggest surprises, Marzio says, is the realistic portrayals of royalty and other subjects in terra cotta, stone and metal. "Most of what we think of as African art today are the types of abstract art and wooden art that really influenced 20th century artists like Picasso. So, to see these objects that are made in a very classical way, more like Greece and Rome, I think is a revelation and I think it changes your idea of what African art was," said Marzio.

An Agere Ifa - Yoruba Art, Culture & Tradition

An Agere Ifa is a single specific from the very important ritual artifacts utilized by divination priests. When an soneone or group people consults Ifa priest which has a difficulty, the diviner employs 16 sacred palm nuts to “cast Ifa” & generate photographs to that customer. This agere Ifa was made by a leader carver, & has an intricate grouping of 7 figures plus a horse. Inside the faces of one's equestrian ascertain & also the mum with youngster, the master carver has reflected wishes of thos people during the days consulting the priest, & has supplied visual expressions of hope & high expectation.