Object Name: Bush spirit (carved figure)
Place of Origin: Nigeria
Cultural Group: Ijo peoples
Materials Used: Wood and white pigment
Dimensions: H: 170.2 cm, W: 38.1 cm, D: 29.2 cm (H: 67.0 in, W: 15 in, D: 11.4 in)
Credit line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Edgar F. Gross. X84.496

Ijo warriors went off to battle looking much like this figure, equipped with weapons, medicine gourds, and war paint for protection and often wearing imported headgear to proclaim their status.

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 096