Teach with Collections: Yoruba artist, "House of the Head" shrine (Ilé orí)

As the slave trade devastated Yoruba communities, the need for self-protection generated new practices focused on the individual. These included keeping a "house of the head" (ile ori) like this one, which encased a shrine (ibori) dedicated to the inner, spiritual component of the head. Cowrie shells like those that encrust this structure were traded as currency in exchange for human life during the height of the Atlantic slave trade; thus, the cowries brought to the Nigerian coast on Portuguese ships represented the violence and the wealth of the Atlantic economy. A cowrie-covered ile ori protected the individual spiritually and also literally, through the accumulation of trade wealth. Upon their owners' deaths, ile ori were traditionally dismantled, their cowries redistributed among relatives and returned to circulation. In the case of this intact example, the owner probably converted to another religion before his death.

Conversation prompts:

Describe the different ways that the cowrie shells are functioning on this object‚—as material elements (with architectural and textural effects) and/or as symbols of power.

European glass beads also functioned as currency within the transatlantic slave trade. How did this asymmetrical system of power and wealth effect the ways in which we can appreciate the fine beadwork on this object?