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The ancestral shrine house, Mma obu (ancestor-rest house), in Ezi Ukwu compound, Mgbom village, Afikpo Village-Group, Nigeria

African Art Museum

The ancestral shrine house, Mma obu (ancestor-rest house), in Ezi Ukwu compound, Mgbom village, Afikpo Village-Group, Nigeria
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
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Object Details

sova.eepa.2000-007_ref651
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo74c7f25ce-813f-4501-b7e0-5b54b1fddfc6
Local Numbers
O-162/1951-1953 EEPA 2000-070143
General
Title source: Dr. Simon Ottenberg, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Photographer
Ottenberg, Simon
Collection Photographer
Ottenberg, Simon
Place
Africa
Nigeria
Topic
Cultural landscapes
Vernacular architecture
Religious buildings
Shrines
Photographer
Ottenberg, Simon
Culture
Igbo (African people)
See more items in
Simon Ottenberg photographs
Extent
1 Slide (col.)
Date
1951-1953
Custodial History
Donated by Simon Ottenberg, 2000.
Archival Repository
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
Identifier
EEPA.2000-007, Item EEPA 2000-007-0143
Type
Archival materials
Slides
Color slides
Collection Rights
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Bibliography
Double Descent in an African Society; the Afikpo Village-Group. By Simon Ottenberg. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1968. Fig. 3, opp. p. 47, top right.
Genre/Form
Color slides
Scope and Contents
This photograph was taken by Dr. Simon Ottenberg while conducting field research at Afikpo village-group, southeastern Nigeria, from December 1951 to March 1953.
Original title reads, "Man taking ukie chi title, Ezi Ukwu compound, Ndibe Village. Compound ancestral rest house in front of which this part of the title takes place, Ezi Ukwu compound, Ndibe Village." [Ottenberg field research notes, O Series,December 1951-March 1953].
Publication title reads, "Ancestral shrine house (Mma obu), with Ibini okpabe shrine outside."
"A short distance inside the compound entrance is the ancestral shrine of the lineage founder, Mma obu (ancestor-rest house), which also serves as a rest house and meeting place for the lineage elders, and near which is a small cleared area used for meetings and feasts. The founder's house is believed to have been located where the shrine stands and his body to be buried beneath it, and the spirits of the male ancestors of the major patrilineage, Nde mma (people-ancestors or spirits), are said to reside in the shrine. Another commonly found shrine, Ibini okpabe, to the Aro Chuku oracle, is located outside of the ward resthouse. It usually has no priest, a thank offering being given it by an interested elder at the New Yam Festival and at other times on the suggestion of a diviner." [Ottenberg S., 1968: Double Descent in an African Society; the Afikpo Village-Group. University of Washington Press].
Collection Restrictions
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Other Archival Materials
Simon Ottenberg Papers are located at the National Anthropological Archives, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.
EEPA.2000-007_ref651
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo74c7f25ce-813f-4501-b7e0-5b54b1fddfc6
EEPA.2000-007
EEPA
Record ID
ebl-1536864686513-1536864686729-0

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