Jukun Commemorative Royal Ancestor Figure, Jukun People, Northeastern Nigeria.
First half 20th Century
Wood, organic material
39 x 9 x 5 cm
15 3/8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in
15 3/8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in
2627
€ 3,000.00
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The figure is depicted standing, bearded, with a tribal skull-cap with extensions on each side of the head. Statuettes of this type represent ancestors and are displayed during funerals, agricultural ceremonies, and in times of danger. During these rites, the figures serve as an intermediary between the priest and the ancestor’s world.The Jukun people live on the upper Benue River in Nigeria, commonly believed to be descendants of the people of Kororofa, one of the most powerful Sudanic kingdoms during the late European Middle Ages. The ruins of a great settlement to the northeast of the Jukun’s present location are thought to be those of the capital of that kingdom, but the claim has not been thoroughly investigated by archaeologists.The Jukun traditionally possessed a complex system of offices, which had both a political and a religious aspect; the priesthood practiced an involved form of religion marked by diurnal and annual rounds of ritual and sacrifice. The king, called Aka Uku, was—until he became a member of northern Nigeria’s house of chiefs in 1947—a typical example of a semi-divine priest-king.
Provenance
Ex Martial bronsin 2009Native 2012
Ex Martin Lagrain
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