The Ejiogbe Twins, fine stone carvers

Kehinde and Taiwo dancing hand in hand

Taiwo and Kehinde Olabode Ejiogbe: now and then

Drums could be heard in a distance as we approached the open compound of the Ejiogbes. Two slender white-clad silhouettes, those of two Obatala followers, were dancing forward in our direction, sometimes hand in hand, sometimes not, but synchronised at all time. Taiwo and Kehinde Ejiogbe, the stone carver twins of Inisa, Osun state, were now greeting us and welcoming us in an open courtyard where a marquee had been arranged with rows of plastic chairs.

Taiwo's simple lines

I had met the Ejiogbe Twins about a year ago in Iragbiji and had bought some of their carvings which I still like very much. So it was natural to go and meet them again in their abode.

The compound was decorated with the many stones carved by the Twins. Taiwo's works were displayed on the lawn separating the road from the house. Large pieces with an asiatic touch in the simplicity of lines of the carvings.

Kehinde's roundness

Kehinde had most of his works in a shed on the other side of the house courtyard which were rounder and more exuberant. Interestingly the contrast of exuberance in carving was mirroring the character of each of them. Yorubas are very fond of twins and they say that Taiwo, the first of the twins to come out of his mother's belly is usually more calm and less talkative than his brother Kehinde, the second one. As if the path to birth was moulding the character of new born babies. Back to their work, they mostly carve stones but also occasionally wood and for their tour abroad they did a few paintings representing twins. They mentioned that they had travelled to the US and Japan to show their works about twenty years ago. The stone motives are essentially symbolic representations of Obatala the creator, shown moulding a human between his hands, but also his wives and other Yoruba divinities like Sango or Ogun. They portrait human characters such as drummers, flute players, and other mundane subjects like a money-lender wearing an ample robe and carrying swollen bags of money.

bata drum engaging with the Egungun

The twins have a particular hairstyle. Cowries are woven into their hair like a crown surrounding their face. They usually wear white as a sign of their affiliation with Obatala, the divinity of creation. They had prepared for the occasion an entertainment with the Ejiogbe Ibile Cultural Group which gathered drummers and dancers as well as an Egungun (a representation of a spirit of the ancestors of the family) that came to perform a dance of his own in front of us. As always there was an interaction between the drums and the Egungun, like a conversation, sometimes a provocation to bring the Egungun to react. His costume was laden with colourful fabrics and hand-stitched with charms. The head mask presented four faces with scarifications.
The show ended and it was unfortunately time to part with our jolly hosts.

The Ogiamien family in Benin City: about wood and history

Roland Ogiamien in his wood-carving workshop Wood Roland Ogiamien is a renown wood carver. He is now retired in his home town of Benin City and is now in his 80s. We met him in his simple workshop, a barn opened on the surrounding greenery. A part of the studio is used to store wood pieces and make sure they are well dried. He is using a collection of german ustensils to carve and polish the wood. He spent most of his career working out of Lagos before relocating to Benin. Roland was explaining that the wood he uses today is different that the one he worked on in his early days. Ebony has become rare and wood carvers have had to switch to other types of wood. Traditional heritage is a large part of his inspiration which he translates on wood with his own particular style, exploring various techniques for the finish of his pieces. Roland Ogiamien and two of his favourite masks History Ogiamien is the name of an important royal family in Benin Kingdom. Towards the end of the

The mysterious stones images of Esie

turned into Stones Chief J. Agbo Ooye had been waiting in the shade of a large tree, in front of the National Museum of Esie, dressed in ceremonial costume with a velvet hat incrusted with crystal beads sown in the shape of his title and his name. He was sitting next to his wife on a bench, expecting our arrival. His wife, he would tell us later, was his best friend and she was actually demonstrating it by guiding his frail body from one place to another and guiding his hand when it came to sign autographs of his books. Chief Agbo Ooye is the author of two booklets on the Esie Stones. The first one, called A Personal Account of the Esie Stones is giving an overview of the differences between the scientific and the traditional interpretation of the Esie Stones. The second one is called the History of Esie and gives a brief account of Esie's history from the early settlement of Yorubas in various groups (Esie, Oro, Eku Apa, Igbonla, Edidi, Igbesi, etc...) to the present day. Thos

The Arala of Benin Kingdom and his large family music band

High Chief Arala of Benin Kingdom, Prince S.B. Omo Lawal Osula At the intersection of two potholed market streets in the heart of Benin City, somewhere along Lagos street, stood three marquees. Two of them were covering rows of plastic chairs and a plastic table for special guests. The third one was covering a wooden stage with numerous microphone booms. A band was getting ready to play. The setup was facing the house of the Arala, a High Chief of Benin City. In front of the house painted in orange was a wooden bank on which traditional percussionists would seat later on. Seated guests were waiting for the Arala himself. The Arala had come out, dressed in a salmon-pink suit and red loafers, to welcome us personally upon our arrival while we parked next to the marquees. He is a man of small stature but fit and lively for his age (he is in his mid seventies). The Arala runs an NGO to help international organisations fund rural education projects around Benin city. The NGO spares the

Nigeria, the land of plenty

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