Object Name: Carved figure
Janiform hermaphroditic bush spirit
Cultural Group / Place of Origin: Nigeria, Ijo peoples
Materials Used: Wood
Dimensions: H: 113 cm, W: 17.8 cm (H: 44.4 in, W: 7.0 in)
Credit line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of William Lloyd David and Rogers Family Foundation. X81.1567

This remarkable janiform figure wears a type of medicine gourd that usually connotes masculine aggression around its neck and on its upper arms. It could simply represent a spirit as a hermaphrodite but recalls as well the powerful female diviners who stand poised between two worlds, ready to wage war against hostile spirits.

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 113