YORUBA WOOD-CARVING ICONS:A comparative analysis of Yoruba wood-carvings in Oyo, Sabe and Ife
This study looks at the diffusion and transformation of Yoruba art (wood carving) from Oyo Yoruba (Nigeria) to other Yoruba communities in Sabe (Benin Republic) and Ife (Togo).Using existing mythological and historical discussions on the origin of the Yoruba, it explores the historical records of the dispersal of the Yoruba to other locations outside their original home to other parts of the world, especially Sabe and Ife.The robustness of Yoruba wood carvings,especially in the service of the Yoruba pantheon, is acknowledged and re-appraised.The research identifies fundamental Yoruba wood carving subjects as a base and then compare and analyse characteristic variations in the representations and interpretations of these icons in the three communities under study.Semiotic, iconology and diffusion theories were applied in the interrogation of data.So far, the study has observed that many of the identified Yoruba wood carving icons have retained their basic characteristic features in Oyo, Sabe and Ife and that they serve the same purpose and have similar interpretations in all the communities.However, it is observed that as the cultural trait (wood carving) is dispersed further away from its origin (Oyo), it continued to be reduced in number to the basic paraphernalia needed in the worship of the Yoruba deities.When completed, the result of this study promises to be valuable in predicting effects of migration on cultural traits and, by extension, beliefs.It will also contribute to the unending discussions about the origin of the Yoruba.
AKANDE Abiodun Olasupo
Department of Fine and Applied Arts,Emmanuel Alayande College of Education,P.M.B.1010, Oyo, Oyo State, Nigeria
国内会议
北京
英文
140-155
2013-10-11（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）