Object Details
sova.eepa.2000-007_ref732
- Local Numbers
- O-253/1951-1953 EEPA 2000-070224
- 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
- Religious buildings
- Shrines
- Rites and ceremonies -- Africa
- 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 2000-007-0224
- 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.
- 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, "The eldest man in the compound, a member of the senior Afikpo age group Oni Ekara, laying the foundation stone in the construction of the patrilineal ancestral shrine house, obu in Ezi Akputa compound, Mgbom Village. His age rank is indicated by the red cap he wears. Under this stone the founder of Ezi Akputa is said to have first made sacrifice when he came to found the compound." [Ottenberg field research notes, O Series, December 1951-March 1953].
- "The Afikpo elders, Nde ici ehugbo (people-old-Afikpo), form one large grade that is the major traditional ruling element in Afikpo today. This elders' grade is divided into three subgrades and age category. Among the three, the senior subgrade, oni ekara, consists of very elderly individuals from various parts of Afikpo. The oni ekara wear knit red woolen caps as a mark of rank. They are considered to be between the living and the dead, and closest to the world of the ancestors. They are greatly respected. They also carry leather bags slung over their shoulders, and whenever their advice is desired by any Afikpo, it is customary to give them a gift of a penny or two before asking them to speak. They are often priests of shrines, for example, the patrilineal ancestral shrine, Mma obu, where the person chosen as priest is sometimes the oldest lineage person." [Ottenberg S., 1971: Leader and Authority 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.
EEPA.2000-007_ref732
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo71e9facd7-b86a-4479-8085-8bda1247b289
EEPA.2000-007
EEPA
- Record ID
- ebl-1536864686513-1536864686744-0