The Urhobo live in the western region of the Niger Delta, in the south of Nigeria. They honour the forces of nature in the form of spirits, as well as their own ancestors. The main religious figure in the ancestor cult of the Urhobo is the wood spirit and ‘mythical warrior’, called ‘Ejo’. He is represented in the form of a figure, and ritually venerated in his own shrine and given offerings. The Urhobo figure presented here represents this ‘mythical warrior’, ‘Ejo’. The figure is carved from hard wood, and is coloured reddish-brown and dark brown. ‘Ejo’ wears a round cap with a central knob on his head. The typical Urhobo head has a wide, bulging forehead and a concave face, with outlined eyes, short nose, and an aggressively protruding, open mouth with a wide row of teeth. On his forehead the Urhobo figure has 6 vertical scarification marks and a horizontal scarification mark on each temple. On the back of the head there are always two protruding ‘plaits’. The upright, broad-shouldered figure, who sits rigidly on a stool, wears an amulet on a necklace in front of his chest. In his right, bent hand ‘Ejo’ holds a sword, in his left hand a sceptre. Navel and penis are accentuated. The entire body of the ‘mythical warrior Ejo’ is covered with a reddish-brown layer, while his decorative necklaces, and the large bracelets and anklets (normally by the Urhobo these are of ivory) are accentuated in blackish-brown. The entire figure, inspiring awe and respect, and its stool, sits on a tall socle which was probably once round. The entire sculpture is carved from a single piece of very hard, heavy wood. Thus the ‘mythical warrior Ejo’ stood in his shrine and was venerated by the Urhobo, and received ritual offerings. The present figure is very old. It displays a partially shiny patina in keeping with its age, and traces of earlier offerings. Some age-related damage: colour scuffing, some pieces broken off at the right side of the abdomen and on the plinth, cracks in the sword, in the cap above, as well as on the head and back. Never the less, this ‘Ejo figure’ of the Urhobo is a very impressive, imposing ritual object. H: 50 cm (total). First third of the 20th century. (ME)

Provenance: Belgian Collection.

Lit.: ‘The Tribal Arts of Africa’ by Jean-Baptiste Bacquart, p. 93, fig. 8; ‘Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture’ by K.-F. Schädler, ill. p. 595, 596 (but taken so that the sword hilt covers the hole in the stomach).