Object Name: Bush spirit
Place of Origin: Nigeria
Cultural Group: Ijo peoples
Materials Used: Wood
Dimensions: H: 172.1 cm, W: 34.2 cm (H: 67.7 in, W: 13.4 in)
Credit line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of William Lloyd Davis. X79.476

A quintessential Ijo “warrior,” this bush spirit is protected by “bulletproofing” medicines contained in his calabash necklace. Placed at the edge of a Delta village, he would have protected it against human and supernatural invaders.

Source: Anderson, Martha G. and Peek, Philip M. ed. (2002): “Ways of the Rivers: Arts and Environment of the Niger Delta” Los Angeles, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. page 090