Importance of Oriki in Yoruba Mural Art

Ijele: Art eJournal of the African World (2002)
ISSN: 1525-447X

Stephen Folárànmí
Abstract

In visual art, inspiration and concept are the driving forces in the execution of a particular art piece, be it in the Fine or industrial Art. Yorùbá traditional mural has been executed in most cases in veneration of the òrìsà and most of the products are for the Oba as well as for rich or influential individuals. Despite the painters’ claim to have been ’moved’ or inspired by the spiritual powers of the òrìsà in the execution of such murals, Oríkì, ’cognomen’ has been discovered to be a very important driving force in these paintings. This paper tries to examine the importance and impact of oríkì in the execution and interpretation of selected Yorùbá traditional murals.
Introduction

The various studies on Yorùbá traditional mural are very revealing and most, if not all Yorùbá traditional murals and shrine paintings have been documented. This gives us sufficient data for further analysis and investigation. Although the genesis of research into Yorùbá wall paintings is traceable to Ulli Beier,1 who in 1960 carried out a brief study and documentation of about ten shrine painting and other paintings in Yorùbáland and Diaspora. Murals such as òrìsàpopo in Ògbómòsó. Obàtálá in Ìllà. Irele in Ìkìrun. Oya in Jébbà. Sàngó in Pobe-Dahomey, and private house in Gbòngán and Ilara were all executed in locally procured materials. Moyò Òkèdîji, and Bólájí Campbell have both presented a better understanding of the art of shrine painting. Particularly revealing is Òkèdîji’s Òrìsàkire painting school in Ilé-Ifè.2 On a general survey, the paintings are specifically done in the veneration of the òrìsà, while the materials used are much the same everywhere.

Òkèdîji opined that the abundance of clay and soil materials and the simplicity of Yorùbá colour sensibility, which is polychromal in nature, explain the preponderance of the tradition of mural painting in Yorùbáland. All shades of browns and ochres, are derived from clay and soil materials, while reddish-pupa are derived from vegetable materials such as Ibùje leaves (randia maculata) ìjòkùn leaves (mucuna solenei), and osùn- cam wood. èlú leaves gives indigo, while pure black-dúdú is sourced from charcoal. White- funfun is obtained by heating eggshell to a certain temperature and grinding it into fine powder; it is also derived from kaolin and chalk.3 To bind these materials together so that they adhere to the wall surface, congealed pap (èko tutu) is made into paste and added to the prepared pigments. It is noteworthy to mention that procurement and preparation of these pigments are laborious and tedious. In recent times some changes have been witnessed in the execution of these paintings. Studies by Campbell4 reveals that modern paints such as enamel and emulsion paints have been introduced to the art of mural painting in Yorùbáland. The ògbóni painting in Ilésà is one of such paintings. The result of these studies into traditional Yorùbá murals is its successful introduction and fusion into contemporary modern painting, which finds its development in the birth of Onà group of artist from the Ifè art school. ‘Dance Drama’ is an example of such paintings executed purely with the locally procured materials (fig. 1). Efforts have been made to interpret numerous symbolic images on these paintings. The interpretation has been achieved by probing through rich Yorùbá cultural values, religion, myths, tales, folklore and oral tradition. These have eventually helped to broaden our knowledge about these murals and their significance.

Shrine painters over the years have claimed to have been “moved” or inspired by the òrìsà in the painting of shrine walls. Some, on the other hand, say that during the annual festivals they only touch up what had initially been painted on the walls but which in the course of time had faded due to exposure to the elements. Totally disregarding the spiritual basis of painters’ inspiration may not be wise because we have not experienced it personally. However, notwithstanding our lack of spiritual experience, we are still able to undertake iconographic analyses of these murals. Recent studies have revealed that some of the concepts and images represented on the murals are derived from the oríkì (cognomen) of the òrìsà or Oba. Oríkì is an attributive name, expressing what the child is, or what he or she hopes to become, an endearment or praise intended to have a stimulating effect on the individual.5 This can also be said of a Yorùbá òrìsà.

This essay, therefore, seeks to explore the cognomen (oríkì) of selected Yorùbá òrìsà and Obas on whose walls such paintings have been executed. The influence and impact of oríkì in the execution of such murals will also shed more light on the significance of these murals in Yorùbá art and culture.
Oríkì

Oríkì forms the basis of formal praise poetry. These are most often given to people, but may also describe class, animals or inanimate objects, and they are usually laudatory.6 Although not very common today among the educated Yorùbá elite, it used to be a day-to-day form of showering praises on children by their parents when they greet them in the morning. I did enjoy such endearment from my grandfather while he lived.

Oríkì (cognomen) are permanent titles held by individuals, some of whom have several of these names so that a collection of them recited together resemble loosely constructed poem about the person praised.7 Various scholars (Johnson, S.1976: Karin Barber, Olatunji, O, 1984) have identified several forms of oríkì. There is oríkì sókí - one word oríkì, as in Àkàní, Àbèní, Àjàó, Àrèmú, and so on. There are also oríkì of lineages, towns and places, chiefs and kings, divinities, plants and animals.8 These later oríkì are often descriptive, for example:-

Òjó kúrè, Alágada ogun

Òjó ò sí nílé, omo adìe dàgbà

Òjó wà nílé omo adìe kò kù kan

Òjó ún wè lódò

Gbogbo omoge yo wóse

Òjó kúrè, alágada of war

In the absence of Òjó, chicks grow to maturity

when Òjó is at home, chicks are devoured

while Òjó takes his bath at the river,

all young ladies come with soap.

The discipline and characteristic role of oríkì evokes the feeling of well-being in the subject as he or she has a comprehensive citation being presented about him or her.9 This you experience when you visit most, if not all Yorùbá palaces. It is the duty of the court drummers and akéwì at the òyó palace to wake the Aláàfin with such praises every day. The same applies to chiefs and notable personalities whenever they visit the palace. Oríkì is spoken, chanted, or sung (and in the context of this essay, painted) depending on the situation of performance.10 They contain expression, which praise and characterize its subjects. Such expressions and characteristics of the subject being praise are fully experienced on the images and forms realistically displayed on the òyó palace mural.
Oríkì in Òyó Palace Mural

The Òyó palace mural as we shall find out, reveals a vivid example of the influence and significance of oríkì in Yorùbá mural decoration. This painting, commissioned in 1933 by late Aláàfin Siyanbólá Ládigbòlù, known for his love of creativity and flamboyant nature is richly decorated with numerous human, animals and inanimate royal objects. Ruth Finnegan was right when she wrote that the most frequent subjects for panegyrics are human, especially kings and chiefs, and that praises of kings are most formal and public of all.11 In addition Bólánlé Awé mentioned the focus of oríkì on deified heroes and kings, ògún, Òrànmíyàn, Obòkun and others were not only commended and praised for their valour and bravery but also for their protection. In summary, their oríkì describe their hierarchy and function in warfare.12 Oríkì also play a very important role in self aggrandisement and glorification in the society, they were the main instruments through which reputation was publicly acknowledged and enhanced, here, Karin Barber13 says the ‘big man’ is on display. In a public gathering, “oríkì singers would address those they perceive as the most important, the most successful individuals would have the largest corpus of oríkì. Both the mystical and material attribute with which the Oba is endowed sets him apart from the rest of the population. Next to him are the chiefs.” Salami Alabebe who painted this palace mural displayed a high sense of knowledge when it comes to his to people’s culture. There is no doubt that he dug deep into the different oríkì and other praises showered on the Aláàfin.

When Aláàfin Siyanbólá Ládigbòlù wanted to be sure that the painting being commissioned had not been done anywhere else in the whole Yorùbá country, he was only living true to one of the common oríkì of the òyó people. The oríkì that bears this out is:

Ají se bí Òyó làárí, Òyó kìí se bíi enì kokan –

People wake to comport themselves like the Òyó,

but the Òyó never behave like anybody else.

The application of this oríkì and its influence in the execution of the painting can best be appreciated today when it is certain that not all Yorùbá palaces can claim to have such murals on their walls talk less of comparing their murals with the Òyó mural14 The Òyó palace mural is also described as one of the most spectacular of all traditional murals in Yorùbáland.15

This painting chronicles the attribute of the Aláàfin. Most of the animals depicted were actually kept in the palace by the Oba. (elephant, leopard, horse, tortoise, chameleon, ostrich, egret, hare and others). All the images depicted show clarity of form and are realistically rendered.16 Other images were chosen to enhance and promote the position of the Oba. Scenes like attendants and visitors prostrating before the Oba and attendants holding silken parasol over the Oba are depicted (fig. 2).

Apart from the clarity of form and images represented on this painting, some of the images depicted are frequently mentioned in some oríkì of the Aláàfin. In these various praise songs, the Oba is sometime compared with very strong animals, which are associated with leadership, authority and power. Some of these animals have cognomen attributed to them. It has been affirmed that oríkì can be concerned with almost anything - animals, birds ... make apostrophized in high-sounding terms.17

Some of the oríkì assert:

“Àjànàkú kò ni èèkàn,

Oba tí yóò mú erin so kò tíì j e

The elephant has no post to which it is tethered;

the king that will tether the elephant has not been crowned.

This thus shows the great power of the Aláàfin over other Obas, more so when he is described as:

Aláse igbá kejì òrìsà

One with authority next only to the gods.

The elephant is often praised in some oríkì (praise names) as:

Erin oníbú owó

Alágbàlá òkun

Elephant owner of abundant wealth

and a courtyard of sea.

These praises summarily symbolize the wealth of the Aláàfin on the mural. In another oríkì the elephant is described in relation to the Oba,

Erin á gbé nú igbó yan bíi ba

Elephant the jungle dweller who walks majestically like a king.

Other oríkì describe, erin as:-

àjànàkú, òkan soso àràbà tíí mi igbó kìjikìji

elephant, the only gigantic one like àràbà tree who shakes the forest violently.

This in reference to the Aláàfin shows him as the all powerful amongst the other Obas.

The antelope (egbin) is also depicted tethered like the elephant. The antelope is known for its long horns which symbolises àse, (life force) because it is the traditional container for àse a kind of medicine which make wishes and utterances to materialize. “Àse as a word, means authority”.18 The antelope can also be said to be a symbol of beauty as it is evident in its oríkì19 (Fig. 3:). The oríkì reveals the descriptive beauty of the antelope as an animal that:

“Uses velvet leather as bed sheet-

beauty of the forest

animal with shining fur”

“ fàwo àrán se’aso àtésùn

dára níjú,

ranko abara yòòyò”.

it is also described in another oríkì as:-

“Very beautiful antelope, its rival does not exist in the forest”

Egbin dára títi, elegàn egbin kò sí nígbó

In relation to the Aláàfin Siyanbólá Ládigbòlù at whose instance the mural was executed, there is no such beautiful palace, mural or even king as the Aláàfin. He is the embodiment of beauty. For this reason, the ostrich (ògòngò) icon is the most prominent of the images on the mural. Ògòngò is associated with leadership, the following oríkì describes:

“Ògòngò baba eye

Ògòngò, king of birds.

When chanting songs or praise names of the Aláàfin, his wives always refer to him as “Ògòngò baba eye” meaning he, the Aláàfin, is “the king of kings” in Yorubaland20 (Fig. 4: Alaafin and wives).

Another significant image in the mural is the figure with a bow and arrow. This I have identified to either be a warrior or hunter. Both professions are very important to Aláàfin Ládigbòlù and all other Aláàfins before him. Hunters and warriors were very useful to the kings in carrying out their numerous Calvary and assaults in their bid to gain supremacy over other territories. This is no longer so in modern times where such exalted positions have been taken over by state military personnel. The hunter could probably represent those who killed wild animals for the Oba, or his warriors.

In “Awon Oríkì Oríle” by Adébóyè Babalolá, he mentioned, “the progenitors of Olú-Òjé who were brave elephant hunters using spears, bows and arrows. They killed elephants for the queen in òyó Ilé. He also goes on to mention the relationship between hunting and warfare. The Oníikòyí’s weapons were said to include bows and arrows and so Oníkòyís are praised in an oriki as:-

“Àwon omo oníle olófà

ta fà má tàsé

olófà mímú, olófà oró

tíí pa egèbrin ènìyàn”

“Owner of the land of arrows;

sharp shooters,

shooter of sharp arrows,

poisoned arrows with which he killed 800 people”.21

Distinct from the oríkì of the animals are the direct oríkì of the Aláàfin. These are known as oríkì orílè. Oríkì orílè, totem denotes foundation or origin.22 It is however not a name in that it represent every conceivable object such as, erin, (elephant) ògún (the god of iron and war) òpó (post) àgbò (a ram), òkín (peacock) and many others. In orílè, the lineage of the Aláàfin is revealed, making the representation of the images on the murals much more meaningful. In relationship to the interpretation of the images on the Òyó Palace mural, the oríkì and orílè becomes relevant. For example, erin (elephant) is the totem of the original line of kings.23 Because orílè, (totem) is never used by itself, as it would be meaningless, it is always expressed along with oríkì when endearment or admiration is intended.24

Aláàfin Siyanbólá Ládigbòlù Àkànbí Erin and Aláàfin Oláyíwolá Adéyemí III. Àtàndá Erin both share the same totem of the original line of the Òyó kings. Erin, the elephant being mentioned here again as it has been interpreted on the mural. In some lines of various versions of oríkì chanted by Mrs. Afolábí, an akéwì, and a descendant of a family well versed in the in oríkì of the Aláàfin of òyó, some of the images depicted on the palace mural were mentioned.25 A testimony of this is narrated in lines such as-

“Bí ó wo dò, ariwo esin esin

Bí ó gòkè odò, eruku esin

ó fesè esin somi rùkú rùkú rùkú

Oba aborí esin bààbà lonà kòso

bìrìn esin tìkò tìkò lona bàrà”

“When he enters the river, it’s the noise of horses

When he comes out, the horse raises dust

He stirs up the river with the horses’ hoofs

He, strides reluctantly like a horse towards bàrà”

In the above lines of oríkì, esin (horse) seems to be the point of reference. Therefore, the representation of the horse on the mural is justified. (Fig. 5: Horse) In another line, the ostrich was mentioned,

“Ode Ògòngò tíí rìn tomi tomi”.

ostrich hunter, who walks with water).

In another line, the Aláàfin is praised poetically in which the sword is mentioned as:

èyin lomo ò sòrò gbooro

gbédà gbooro kó

òrò gbooro ò tán

idà gbooro ò wàkò”

You are of the descendants of those,

who speak words of volume.

who hang the long sword;

long sword too long for the sheath.

The sword depicted on the mural may be the one mentioned in this line of oríkì (Fig. 7a & 7b: The real sword and its representation on the mural).

Oríkì is especially set to record the events of an individual’s life in most favorable and glorious light and to exalt and glorify him or her. Yùngbà chant is one of the important varieties of oríkì that is reserved only for the noble people of òyó in person of the king, (Aláàfin) his son, àrèmo and the senior brother of the king. (Baba Ìyaji) Although mention can be made of other individuals in the course of their citations, The Yùngbà chant by the Akinyùngbàs’ is particularly to document all the major activities that happened during the reign of each of the Aláàfin.26

One of such historical events was during the reign of Aláàfin Ládigbòlù who commissioned the palace mural. The ’Akinyungba’ documented the close friendship between Siyanbólá Ládigbòlù and Captain Ross; after all, Captain Ross had been instrumental in the installation of Ládigbòlù as Aláàfin after his fathers’ death. Of course, Ross accomplished this with the help of the Òyó–mèsì. This event marked one of the socio-cultural changes being witnessed by the Yorùbá people at the arrival of the colonial masters. The colonialists desired to have a hand in most of what happened around them. It was such influence that brought a constitutional change in the system of succession to the monarchy in Oyo, in which the crown prince no longer commits suicide at the death of his father, but stands the chance of succeeding him. This was a means by which the colonial masters introduced their infamous direct rule system.27 The eventual result was the gradual erosion and usurping of the Oba’s powers. In the chant the Akinyùngbà said.

Ládìgbòlù Àkànbí

Adégbóyèga, ìpekun Oba

Afínjú oba tíí pèèbó ránsé

Adegboyega Akanbi lawo Rosi (Ross)

Ladigbolu Akanbi

Adegboyega, the greatest of kings

A fashionable king that sends a white man on errand

Adegboyega Akanbi is Ross’ confidant.28

It will be true to assert that the significance of the oríkì is much more revealed in the execution and interpretation of the Òyó mural. The reason for this may not be far fetched. The Aláàfin being human lived and dined with the people unlike most of the deities who are mythically known. It was therefore easy to ascribe or attribute so much praise to him. From these oríkì and other sources, the Salami Alabebe drew his subject and inspiration. As earlier mentioned, the oríkì became the driving force by which the artist executed his masterpiece.
Influence of Oríkì on Pópó Shrine Painting

Another painting, which has a considerable influence of oríkì, is the òrìsà Pópó painting in Ògbómòshó. òrìsà Pópó is the name by which Obàtálá is known in Ògbómòshó. As a deity his praises are daily expressed by the devotees. Many Yorùbá deities have a series of praises expressed in figurative and obscure language, sung by the priests. When the òrìsà is to be worshipped or praised, its praise songs are played or recited one after another until it takes possession of one of its worshippers29 , this statement seems to confirm the claim of the painters that they are inspired by the òrìsà in executing the painting. However, we can positively say that various praise songs and chants are the real inspiration in the execution of the painting. The use of colour, images, and forms are all embedded in the oríkì of some of the deities. In 1960, Ulli Beier described this painting as one of the most beautiful shrine paintings in Yorùbáland; a recent photograph (1995) taken however betrays this statement (Fig. 7: Pópó mural). The deterioration of the painting and the skill shows the decline in the artistic decoration of the shrine wall.

As earlier mentioned, òrìsà Pópó is the same as Obàtálá.30 Because Obàtálá worship is widespread in Yorùbáland, he is known by other names in other Yorùbá towns. In èjìgbò he is known as ògìyán, òrìsàìkirè in ìkirè, òrìsà olúfón at Ifón, ìrèlè in ìkìrun, and òrìsànlá in Ile-Ife.31 This is confirmed by the oríkì of Pópó as chanted by one of the female devotees at the shrine.32 Every divinity has a set of cognomen with stories, which are recited in commemoration of his attributes, greatness and nature. It is therefore not strange to find images, forms and colors testifying to the lines in the various versions of oríkì. The painters also state categorically that the recitation of oríkì gives the painters inspiration as they perform their religious duties. As the creator god, Obàtálá or Òrìsà Pópó is saddled with the responsibility of making humans. He is therefore known as the sculpture divinity33 .

The walls of Òrìsà Popo’s shrine are painted with a rhythmic pattern of gods, men and animals to show the acts of Obàtálá in the course of creation. Animals like birds and goats, though not so distinct are represente.34 (Fig. 8: Birds). One of the practical applications of oríkì on the painting is expressed in:

“Eni sojú se mú

òrìsà ni máa sìn

Adá ni bó ti rí

Òrìsà ni maa sin”

He who fashion the eyes and nose

it is òrìsà I will worship

He who creates as he wishes

It is òrìsà I will worship35

One can visibly recognize stylized human figures with faces on the painting. In fact, the mural has more human figures than other forms and images, all enmeshed in white dots. Another oríkì attests to this:

Ó-s-enìkan-soso digba ènìyàn

So mí di rún

So mí digba

So mí di òtà-lé-légbèje ènìyàn 36

O you who multiplies one into two hundred persons!

Multiply me into one hundred,

Multiply me into two hundred

Multiply me into one thousand four hundred and sixty persons.

The thousands of dots all over the wall may be translated as meaning the eye of the òrìsà. This is expressed in:

Olójú kára bíi ajere

One who is all seeing like ajere pot.

Ajere pot is a traditional Yorùbá pot perforated with several holes. It is used for several religious purposes and sometimes in preparation of efficacious medicine.

Women play critical roles in the worship of Obàtálá. They seek help from the deity in order to give them children. The stigma associated with barrenness among the Yorùbá people is very destabilising. It is believed that every marriage must produce its own offsprings. Through this norm every married woman even in modern times goes to any length to bear children. If visiting Obàtálás’ shrine will solve the problem, why not? The societal verdict remains, without a child you cannot be considered a complete woman. A testimony of this is narrated in:-

Ó mú’lé t’ará ojà

Ó so àgàn di alábiyamo,

àgàn tí ò rí’bí, ti ró sòó leyìn olúwa wà 37

Neighbor at the market,

who makes barren women into nursing mother.

The barren women, stoops behind our lord for help.

This is practically depicted on the left side of the painting where female figures are painted with earrings on their ears. Close to the floor on the left side are other figures thanking Popo for answering their prayers.

Obàtálá represents the Yorùbá ideas of ritual and ethical purity, and therefore the demand and sanctions of his morality. Immaculate whiteness is often associated with him. This symbolizes holiness and purity38 . On òrìsà Pópó painting, funfun - white is perhaps the most dominant colour (Fig. 10). The devotees are usually dressed in white, all items used in the shrine should be white, including the food (pounded yam, èko, (congealed pap) òrí (shea butter) and ìgbín - (snail). On account of that also, he is praised as:

Bàtà-banta nínú àlà

Ósùn nínú àlà

Ó jí nínú àlà

Ó ti inú àlà dìde

Immense in white robe

He sleeps in white clothes

He wakes up in white clothes

He rises in white clothes.39

In another oríkì there is a particular interesting aspect, which says:

Obàtálá kò f epo

Obàtálá kò f osun

Obàtálá abhors palm oil

Obàtálá abhors cam wood.40

This oríkì confirms Obàtálá’s preference for white. Pupa (red) and dúdú (indigo or black) is also seen on the mural. These two colours do not have any symbolic connotation to the òrìsà, but they serve as complimentary colours to the white to give aesthetic value and balance of design and harmony.

On the òyó mural, hunters, warriors and their tools of trade are depicted, this is not so on òrìsà Pópó painting. This is because Obàtálá is a god of peace and purity. He does not harm his children whom he moulded with his own hand. The oríkì which expresses this belief and which invariably must have influenced the painting is in:

Òòsà má jé ká ta fà nílú yí láíláí

Iyán ojú Pópó ni o jé á maa tú sénu

onílé ojú Pópó má jógun ó jà lú re

gbodò jógun ó le jàlú àwa.41

Òrìsà, prevent us from shooting arrows in this town forever.

Provide us pounded yam to eat

Landlord of Pópó, do not allow war to break out in your town.

Do not allow war to break out in our town.

The significant influence of oríkì in the interpretation of this painting cannot be over emphasized. Inasmuch as the painters and devotees could not give any concrete information concerning the images they have painted, the oríkì has enabled us to understand and appreciate this mural.

Another shrine painting with some glaring influence of oríkì in the images represented is the Ògbóni Repository in Ilésà.
The Ògbóni Repository, Ilésà

The Ògbóni repository in Ilésà consists of three shrines dedicated to Ògún, the Yorùbá god of Iron, Òsun, river goddess and the Ògbóni shrine.42 The presence of Ògún shrine in almost all major shrines in Yorùbáland is significant. According to a myth, it was Ògún who cleared the way for other divinities on their way to earth.43 Ògún is thus praised as:

Ògún al’àdá méjì:

Ó ún fì kan sán ko

Ó ún fì kan yè’nà

Ògún, possessor of two machetes

with one he prepares the farm,

with the other he clears the way

The presence of the cutlass on the mural is therefore seen as representing the attribute power of Ògún through the cutlass and other iron tools known as a hunter and the patron saint of hunters in Yorùbáland, some versions of Ògúns’ oríkì praise him as requesting particular animals. Some of these animals may be the ones represented on (Fig. 9: Wall of motifs). Apart from the dog motifs, other animals depicted resemble some wild animals with pointed teeth, whiskers and ear on the upper left side of the wall. The snake motif is easily recognizable; one however quickly questions the representation of the snake (Fig. 10: Compound wall). On this, Campbell explained that there are similarities between the fierceness of the Ògún with that of the fiery nature of the serpent, as well as the closeness and eartheness of both the serpent and Ògún to Ilè.44 To the extreme right of the wall and the second to the last image is another animal with horns and long ears. This anthropomorphic image cannot be mistaken for any other animal than the ram (àgbò). The representation of these animals is not out of place. It is attested to by yet another oríkì:

Ògún méje l’Ògún mi:

Ògún Alárá níí ’gb’ajá;

Ògún Onírè a gb’àgbò;

Ògún Ìkolà a gbà’gbín;

T’elémonà níí’gba isu sísun

Ògún Akinrin a gbà’wo àgbò;

Ògún gbénà-gbénà, eran ahun l’ó máa je.

There are seven denominational Ògún who receive my devotion:

Ògún of Alárá it is who takes dog;

Ògún of Onírè it is who takes ram;

Ògún of Surgery habitually takes snail;

That of elemonà it is who take roasted yam;

Ògún of Akinrin habitually takes ram’s horn;

Ògún of the artisans, it is the flesh of tortoise that he eats.45

Apart from the representation of the ram on the painting, other animals mentioned in the above oríkì are not so painted; the artist may have excluded them for lack of space or for compositional competence on his part.

Ògún’s favourite colour is red, and this in Yorùbá colour symbolism signifies fierceness, it marks the ferocious and volatile temper of the deity. This nature made it difficult for Ògún to adjust to community life. He therefore resides in seclusion. Whenever he sought a settled life, every community rejected him on account of his terrible appearance. This is alluded to in an oríkì chant:

Ijó tí Ògún nti orí-òkè bò

aso iná ló mú bo ra

èwù èjè ló wò

The day Ògún was descending from Hilltop

he was clothed in fire

and wore garments of blood.46

It has been earlier mentioned that the decorations of the walls are usually accompanied with drumming and dancing, which most times include the recitation of the deities’ oríkì. It is therefore not strange to find such artists well versed in the oríkì chants of the deities especially when the bàtá drummers are performing (bàtá drum is requisite for Ògún and Sàngó worshippers). At such times the painter is in a highly charged state of creative consciousness enabling him or her to create images that best befits the òrìsà.

òsun is one of the female òrìsà in Yorùbáland. As a fertility goddess she is regarded as the most important of these female divinities, she is therefore a symbol of motherhood. In her honour, a segment of the Ògbóni repository in Ilésà is dedicated to her.47 As a provider of children, women from all walks of life visit her shrine (Òsun groove in Òsogbo) to offer ablution in hope of the gift of children. She is thus praised as:

sélèrú àgbo, àgbàrá àgbo,

l’ òs’ún fi we omo rè

kí dókítà ó tó dé

Floods of concoction

Are what Òsun bathes her children in

Before the doctors came.

Therefore the kneeling figure of the second section of the Ògbóni shrine represents such endearment. It symbolizes “Ìkúnlè Abiamo” (Birth pains). “Ìkúnlè Abiamo” summarily symbolises a woman in labour pains, at the very moment when she is to be delivered of her baby. At such a crucial moment, she experiences labour pains. (Birth pains) In reference to this critical period, the Yorùbá people often say:

E rántí ìkúnlè abiamo

Remember the labour pains.

This they plead for when a child or a person is being subjected to inhuman treatment. The importance of labour pains and the relationship between a child and the mother as expressed by the Yorùbá people is also corroborated by a passage in the Holy Bible, where Jesus spoke about “when a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world” John 16:21 (RSV. Holy Bible)48 . The joy a woman exhibits after delivery despite the pains signifies their desire to have a child irrespective of what it takes. The kneeling could also symbolize a barren woman seeking òsun’s help to heal her of barrenness.
Conclusion

As evident in the traditional murals influenced by oríkì, Yorùbá oríkì has been proven to be a very potent tool in the hands of the local artists in representing their visual art. The contents and attributes of various oríkì were utilized to paint images in beautifying the walls of palaces and shrines; most of these paintings were executed before the widespread use of written language among the Yorùbá people. Their art thus became a means of visually representing the attributes of the òrìsà or Oba as expressed in various oríkì chants. This was even more acceptable because a larger number of the community was well versed in their indigenous oríkì.

In contemporary times, oríkì can also serve as a rallying point, and a driving force in the development of traditional themes in painting. It can create a possible means by which modern materials like oil paints can be used in executing paintings using the oríkì as the basis for composition. Execution of traditional themes in painting will then no longer be restricted to palace walls and shrines alone but also on canvass, private and public walls (murals). It has been ascertained by many scholars (Karin Barber 1991, Adépégba, 1995 Akínyemí, 1991, Olátúnjí, 1984, Finnegan, 1970 and Johnson, 1976), that oríkì also play the role of historical record keeping among the Yorùbá. Today however, citation or singing of oríkì is only left to the aged and akéwìs who use it as a means of livelihood in their musical production.

Introducing oríkì into our arts it makes it more lasting because art is known to last forever. Art is also not static. If our traditional artists could achieve considerable success in utilizing oríkì as a driving force in the production of the murals, artists in contemporary times should also tap ideas and inspiration from the same source. This will enhance, and bring some traditional identity in their creative works. Through this, we may be able to spur the younger generation to have a renewed interest in their individual, family and town oríkì.
References

Adébóyè B. (1967): Awon Oríkì Oríle: ed. William Collings, Glasgow.

Adépégba, C.O. (1995). Nigerian Art: Its’ Tradition and Modern Tendencies, Ibadan Jolad Press.

Àrèmú, A: 1979 Asanyan Oriki: Onje, Ohun Ogbìn, Èèrà, Eye, Eranko ati Ejò. University of Ibadan Press Limited, Ibadan.

Akínyemí, A. (1991): “Poets as Historians: The Case of Akinyungba in y”, in ODU, A Journal of West African Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife.

Awé, B,. (1975):Notes On Oriki and Warfare in Yorubaland, in Yoruba Oral Tradition. Ed. Wande Abimbola, Dept. of African Languages, University of Ife.Ile-Ife.

Karin Barber. (1991): I Could Speak Till Tomorrow: Oriki, Women and the Past in a Yoruba Town. Edinburgh University Press.

Beier, U. (1960): “Yoruba Wall Painting” in ODU. A Journal of West African Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

Campbell, V. B. 1989 : Comparative study of selected shrine Paintings in Ile-Ife and Ilesa. (Unpublished MFA Thesis, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife).

Fádípè, N.A., (1975): The Sociology of the Yoruba, Ibadan University Press.

Finnegan, R. (1970): Oral Literature in Africa, Oxford University Press.

Folárànmí, S. A. (2000): òyó Palace Mural, (Unpublished MFA Thesis), Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife.

--------. (1995): Orisa Popo Shrine Painting in Ogbomoso. (Unpublished B.A. Thesis Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife)

Ìdòwú, B. (1996): Olodumare, God in Yoruba Belief, Longman Nigeria Plc. Revised and Enlarged edition.

Johnson, S. (1976): The History of the Yorùbás, Lagos CSS Bookshops.

Olátúnjí, O. (1984): Features of Yoruba Oral Poetry, University Press Limited, Ibadan.

Òkédîji, Moyò (1992): “Orisakire Painting School, Ile-Ife”, in Kurio Africana. Vol.1 no.2.

---------. (1986): “Yoruba Paint Making Tradition” in Nigerian Magazine, vol.54. No.2

Smith, M.G. (1957): “The Social Functions and Meaning of Hausa Praise-Singing”, Africa 27.
Endnotes

1. Beier U. (1960): “Yoruba Wall Painting” in ODU: A Journal of West African Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, 36-39.

2. Òkédîji, Moyò (1992) : Orisakire Painting School, Ile-Ife, in Kurio Africana. Vol.1 no.2,.122.

3. Òkédîji, Moyò (1986): Yoruba Paint Making Tradition in Nigerian Magazine, vol.54. No.2.

4. Campbell V. B.(1989) : Comparative Study of Selected Shrine Paintings in Ile-Ife and Ilesa. (Unpublished MFA Thesis, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife).

5. Johnson, S. (1976): The History of the Yorùbás, Lagos CSS Bookshops, 85.

6. Finnegan, R. (1970): Oral literature in Africa, Oxford University Press, 111.

7. : op. cit., p. 11

8. Olátúnjí, O. (1984): Features of Yoruba Oral Poetry, University Press Limited, Ibadan. p 77

9. op. cit., 68.

10. op. cit., 14.

11. Finnegan, R. (1970): op cit., 114.

12. Awé, Bolanle: (1975): “Notes On Oriki and Warfare in Yorubaland”, in Yoruba Oral Tradition. Ed. Wándé Abímbólá, Dept. of African Languages, University of Ife, Ile-Ife 268-29.

13. Karin Barber. (1991): I Could Speak Till Tomorrow: Oriki, Women and the Past in a Yoruba Town. Edinburgh University Press, 184-187.

14. Folárànmí, S. A. (2000): òyó Palace Mural, (Unpublished MFA Thesis, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, 26.

15. Ibid.

16. : op. cit., 33.

17. Finnegan, R. (1970): op. cit., 122.

18. Adépégba, C.O. (1995): Nigerian Art: Its’ Tradition and Modern Tendencies, Ibadan Jolad Press, 22.

19. Àrèmú, A: 1979 Asanyan Oriki: Onje, Ohun Ogbìn, Èèrà, Eye, Eranko ati Ejò. University of Ibadan Press, Limited, Ibadan, 11.

20. Adépégba C. O.: op. cit., 22

21. Adébóyè B. (1967): Awon Oríkì Oríle: ed. William Collings, Glasgow, lines 29, 39, 113-117

22. Johnson S. (1976): op. cit., 85

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.

25. Mrs. Afolábí: Oriki Chants of Alaafin of òyó. (recorded audio tape by Stephen Folárànmí, òyó town, March 1999) lines 56, 59, 7, 38-41.

26. Akínyemí, A. (1991): “Poets as Historians: The case of Akinyungba in y”, in ODU, A Journal of West African Studies. Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, 142-143.

27. Fádípè, N.A., (1975): The Sociology of The Yoruba, Ibadan University Press, 316.

28. : op. cit.,pp. 146-147.

29. Smith, M.G. (1957): “The Social Functions and Meaning of Hausa Praise-Singing”, Africa 27. 3.

30. Folárànmí S. A. (1995): Orisa Popo Shrine Painting in Ogbomoso. (Unpublished B.A. Thesis Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife), p. 2230. Johnson, S. (1976): op. cit.,.27

31. Johnson, S. (1976): op. cit., 27.

32. Adéòtí Akéréle : Oriki chants of Orisa Popo (recorded audio tape by Stephen Folárànmí, Ogbomoso, 1995).

33. Ìdòwú B. (1996): Olodumare, God in Yoruba Belief, Longman Nigeria Plc. Revised and Enlarged edition. 90.

34. Beier U. (1960): op. cit., 36-39.

35. Ìdòwú B. (1996): op. cit., 71.

36. op. cit., 73.

37. Adéòtí Akéréle: Ibid.

38. Ìdòwú B. (1996): op. cit., 72.

39. op. cit., 73.

40. Adéòtí Akéréle : Ibid.

41. Ibid.

42. Campbell V. B. (1989): “Comparative study of selected shrine Paintings in Ile-Ife and Ilesa”, (Unpublished MFA Thesis, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife), 58.

43. Ìdòwú B. (1996): op. cit., 85.

44. Campbell V.B. (1989): op. cit., 62.

45. Ìdòwú B. (1996): op. cit., 86-88.

46. op. cit., 84.

47. Campbell V.B. (1989): op. cit., 63.

48. Holy Bible, St. John 16:21 (Revised Standard Version).

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