Poetics and Politics of Race Tags
The Iconology of the Yoruba "Edan Ogboni" - Denis Williams
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1157904?seq=3#page_scan_tab_contents
ual referent. In the second function the image is defined as the vehicle of the spirit, a localization capable of response, standing in a particular relationship to the suppliant. The relationship exemplified in this second function is that which will be of principal importance to the initiate once he is a member of the OgbPlace it comes from
The Edan Ogboni originates from the Yoruba Ogboni Society in the southwest region of Nigeria.Fraternity/men’s society info
The Ogboni is a secret gerontocratic society.Material
The Edan Ogboni is usually made of brassCasting
The Edan is traditionally made by an akedanwaiye, the brass-caster within the association responsible for initiating members.
As the edan is being first modeled in clay, the akedanwaiye places the figures by a hearth, and while they dry he makes various libations, “symbolizing by this means the supreme importance of the clay state in its association.” (Williams 144)
Animals like pigeons, tortoises, and snails are often included in edan figures, as they are sacrificed within the casting period.Iconography - leaf
We have used the leaf motif on the female figure to inspire our veil design.Initiation process
When a new member joins the society, they receive a pair of Edan staffs.Relationship between edan ogboni and person
The edan couple is a sacred materialization of Ogboni life-values and spiritual practices. Through the careful casting process and the elaborate initiation of a member, the edan ogboni become spiritually charged objects, representative of both material manifestations and immaterial spirit.Posthumous
“During these last rites the pair of edan is spiked in the earth beside each temple of the corpse while the chain rests on the forehead. The pair is removed just before burial; it is never buried with the deceased. It is often returned to the shrine after his burial” (Williams 146).