Gelede : Human and Cosmic Beauty and Power It seems Gelede masks, such as the one below, might evoke either the fierce or the placid aspect of the power of Our Mothers, Awon Iya Wa, in Yoruba, the female procreative and destructive potencies underlying being and becoming, as I understand it. This mask seems to focus on the placid, on beautiful human features in harmony with the dynamic order of the circular configurations that balance the face and give the structure spatial depth. The motif of the circle in the sculpture of the related Yoruba institution of Ifa is described as indicating infinity. The correlative image of the spiral in the related Yoruba institution of Ogboni is presented by Babatunde Lawal in Aya Gbo, Aya To : New Perspectives in Edan Ogboni as indicating creative and transformative power. Therefore, may one not understand the balance between the beauty of the human figure of the face and the abstract beauty of the correlative bunch of circles as suggestive of Gelede as celebrating the source of this feminine force in Olodumare, the never ending source of potentiality, as the representation of ultimacy that is Olodumare is described by one view? Olodumare, the central syllabic sequence of whose name, Odu, is pictured as indicative of a large container, such a space itself evocative of both the womb and the cosmos in classical Yoruba cosmology. How may one understand that configuration of circles in the mask as it makes up what might be seen as a hair style? As described by Lawal in Orilonise: The Hermeneutics of the Head and Hairstyles Among the Yoruba, hair styling in classical Yoruba culture can be interpreted in harmony with the perception of the head as the locus of the selfs ultimate potential, embodied in the immortal personality known as the ori inu or inner head. This potential is perceived as a pact between the ori and the the creator of the universe, Olodumare. A hairstyle such as the one in this mask, therefore, may suggest a spiritual identity in which configurations of creative power are knotted within that hairstyle. The sense of calm beauty and abstract dynamism of the mask contrasts and yet shares some affinity with the balance of calm and destructive dynamism of some Gelede masks where the face is a serene womans face but the crown is a coil of twisting antagonistic animals, such as a snake and its adversary, if I remember the image well. The unity of power and danger is not far from the image of Awon Iya Wa, who may be both benevolent and bloodthirsty, adhering to strict laws and yet whose rules are not fully known. My style of interpreting this art is a transposition from what I understand of the art within its primary cosmological and aesthetic context. I wont pretend I am reproducing specifically the scope of meanings attributed to the art by its creator or original users.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 12:06:19 +0000
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