A MUMUYE JOURNEY by Sudi Baker

Discovery

Mumuye sculptures are often found in household shrines.  Each family commissions a figure.  They are associated with elders, rainmakers or diviners and guided by a protective spirit known as Va.

Mumuye have a community based agricultural society that relies on everyone’s involvement.  For example each farmer has one field next to his house, and one field that is on community land and which is tended by various members of the community.  Cooperative work and participation are essential in living successfully in this culture. This represents such contrast to our individualistic society where success is measured by  personal gain. I think that we could all learn many valuable lessons from the Mumuye and the message of love and sharing that their culture emphasizes. 

After picking out our pieces of sculpture, everyone wrote their respective initial reactions to their chosen works. This forced me to take a close look at my sculpture which made me appreciate the sculptor’s skill and attention to detail and try to understand exactly how the piece affected me. Instead of simply appreciating it, I had to try and analyze what exactly I liked about it, and what struck me as interesting and beautiful. What I ended up realizing was that the long elegant forms made me think of a dancer, all grace and beauty. The serene expression gave me a feeling of contentment, and made the figure very pleasing look at and study. Scrutinizing the sculpture made it simple to identify it as coming from the Mumuye, who are located in Nigeria. Mumuye sculpture incorporates long elegant lines in all work, with the torso and arms being the longest part and the hips and legs angled. Each sculpture, as seen in the photos, is  streamlined with rounded hips and angled legs making them all seem very grounded and in touch with the earth.

Click Here for Larger View of WACC figure
Details of Head and Torso