Yoruba

Lesson 13: Negotiating Gender: Portrayal of a Hunter: Ere Egungun Olode, Nigeria

Summary and Objectives

In this lesson students explore the use of egungun masks in rituals devoted to honoring ancestors, as practiced by Yoruba peoples from Nigeria and Benin. They discuss family rituals that celebrate their own ancestors, construct special dress ensembles to honor them, employ poetry as a way to memorialize loved ones, and discuss contrasts between cultures, as inspired by the experiences of Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka. Students will

  • Consider traditions of respect and honor for elder relatives and ancestors and compare these to practices of the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria.
  • Explore egungun masquerades of the Yoruba peoples of West Africa and its diasporas through discussion, artmaking activities, and creative writing.
  • Use the writing of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka to reflect on the challenges of growing up in two cultures. 

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 3: Art and Power

Lesson 1: The Role of the Artist. Crown for Yoruba Initiation by José Rodriguez, U.S.

Summary and Objectives

Through the study of one beaded crown students are introduced to the Yoruba concept of ase and the idea that power can be vested in certain individuals and works of art associated with them. Students analyze the multiple meanings and symbolic associations of beads (and their colors) in Yoruba arts and consider how the appearance of a work can affect its emotional presence. Students are introduced to the maker of this work, José Rodriguez, and consider how artists can be pioneers and explorers who push the boundaries of the knowable world through their creations. Students will

 

  • Explore the multiple meanings of beaded arts among Yoruba peoples in Nigeria and the African diaspora.
  • Use the metaphors of color and meanings associated with beads in Yoruba art in writing and artmaking.
  • Consider and discuss the affective power of Yoruba arts.