A Visit to Ogume in 1937

A Nwammuo [of the Ogume Ika-Igbo (now in Delta State, Nigeria] was a trophy used in a dance or play of the same name. It consisted of groups of little human figures arranged in tiers one above the other. The one I photographed [the photo attached] was two-tiered, with four figures in each tier, and surmounted by two birds, but Ufere was said to have carved Nwammuo with up to four tiers and sixteen figures. I gathered that the principal dancer would carry the trophy on his head and a paddle in his right hand, and that the others (who could be both men and women) would dance in a circle around him. [Nwammuo means ‘ghost-spirit child/offspring’ in Igbo]

A Visit to Ogume in 1937, by G. I. Jones.

Location: Ogume, Ika, Alaigbo | Date: 1930s | Credit: Jones