Comparing Heads.

Well, unfortunately I do not have pictures of the two objects I will be comparing but if you guys can't remember what I'm talking about I'm going to provide you the page numbers in our book! That way if you really want to look at the pictures you know where to go.


The funerary heads from the Akan Culture in Ghana are very intriguing to me.  I am not exactly sure why but there is something about them that I like.  These heads are made out of terracotta and are used in memory of the deceased.  They are portraits on the person they are in memory for but they are not exact replicas.  They actually are not descriptive of the deceased at all except for a few defining details like scarification or hairstyles.  They were meant to be more of a generalization.


The memorial heads or Ori Ode from the Ile-Ife in Nigeria are also created in memory of the deceased.  These heads can be made of either terracotta or brass.  These memorial heads are more realistic than the funerary heads from the Akan Culture.  Features, such as the lips and eyes, are made idealistically but they are still made to represent the deceased.  Often these heads are made with striations on the face.  It is unsure if these are to symbolize scarification or if they are for aesthetic reasons.


Both of these heads could have been placed on a full size body to give it more symbolism.  However, this was not the case with all of them.  They could also be placed on altars or simply just paraded around without bodies at all.  These would then be placed with the buried or next to the graves or tombs.


Before blogging I didn't realize how similar the idea of the memorial heads would be.  Both cultures(as well as the majority of cultures) just want to remember their deceased and it's just interesting to see the ways in which things are similar and are different.