Yourba Art . Formal Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Yourba Art . Formal Analysis - Essay Example As a point of departure, the Olumeye statue is long reputable among the artists of the Yoruba people. Majority of the Olumeye statutes are woodcarvings that depicts a woman kneeling holding a chicken (Sculpture, and I, 7). In these statutes, the basket shaped bowl substitutes for the chicken. It is realizable that, when the Olumeye is used during a welcome ritual, the carved woman brings reputation by attending to her guests by satisfying their hunger through kola nuts. The use of kola nuts in the image is a manifestation of the food provided to the visitors during special visits. The woman’s youthful body, the posture of her offering and stylization of her hair indicates her beauty, however, something with her fertility was in a mess but now it is solved. The kneeling is an indication of a relationship with a higher force, most probably a god of fertility. The divination of the kola nut bowl is in the shape of a chicken that is offered to the gods as a sign of appreciation. The chicken symbolizes the mother’s new state (Sculpture, and I, 15). According to the Yoruba, the carrying of babies indicated the mother’s long period of sexual abstinence and repressed menstruation, which suggest spotlessness and cleanliness, a satisfying female aspect. The image indicates the culture, origin and beliefs of the Yoruba people, who believe that they originated from the city of life, which is the present Nigeria. The Yoruba believes that Nigeria is the site of the Yoruba’s creation story. The manifestation of the kola nut in the image is a depiction that, the Yoruba community are farmers (Sculpture, and I, 8). On equal measure, the art itself indicate that the Yoruba people are fine artists and traders. The female forms in the Olumeye image manifest the ideal feminine beauty of the Yoruba. For instance, the image represents a nude woman with extravagant headdress and long graceful features, which depict the beauty, enclosed in the Yoruba women.