New Clues to an Old Culture

One day last November Bernard Fagg, director of antiquities in Nigeria, paused on a cross-country journey to make a courtesy call on the Oni of Ife. The Oni, the Hon. Sir Adesoji Aderemi, King and spiritual leader of 4,500,000 Yoruba tribesmen, was delighted by the visit. An hour earlier, workmen, clearing a site for a new building, had uncovered a few delicately wrought bronze relics, and the Oni was eager to show them off. After one look at the find--two bronze statues, two egg-shaped staff finials, two solid brass staffs, and a decorated drinking vessel--Fagg rushed excitedly to the site, ordered it sealed off.

Among the new finds at Ife (pronounced Ee-fay), where antiquarians have been digging up terra cotta fragments for years, were two bronzes (see cuts) that rank as masterpieces: P: A 19-in. statue of an Oni king in full regalia. Standing barefoot, clad in skirt, an amulet centered on his beaded hat, the Oni in bronze wears a bib of beads (presumably coral), a knee-length strand of larger beads (probably carnelian or agate), bead anklets, and wristlets. In his right hand he clutches a mace, in his left a ram's horn, the symbol of authority. Slightly idealized, it is unquestionably the portrait of an actual person. The present Oni says that at his coronation in 1930 he was decked out in an identical costume. P: A 10-in. tall work showing two figures. Though one head is still to be found, they are obviously a man and a woman, clothed in the style of a Yoruba tribe wedding ceremony. With his left leg wrapped around the right leg of his partner, the male seems to squirm in anticipation. Their arms are linked like square dancers on promenade. The Yoruba believe the lovers to be Oba Tala, the first Oni of

Ife, and his bride Yemoo, a girl trader who attracted the chief's eye.

Linked with other finds at Ife (where, the Yoruba tribe believes, all creation began), the bronzes have opened a new chapter in the history of African cultures. The seven pieces, all told, believed to have been cast in the 13th or 14th century, are among Africa's finest. They add important new evidence of an ancient Negro culture of amazing sophistication. Last week while the pieces were on their way to England for showings, experts continued to dig and sift the soil at Ife in search of more clues to the past.

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