Yoruba art

So, I was browsing through my pictures today and found a picture of @adejoke16 and I. This was taken at The ancient village of Jobele in Oyo state Nigeria around August this year.

@adejoke16 and I went to Jobele to conduct fieldwork research in company of other students of our department in The University of Ibadan. She studies Archaeology while I'm studying Anthropology.

It was a really beautiful experience because I got to know more about the Yoruba culture and their various crafts. One that struck me the most Was The art of calabash carving.

(used by the worshippers of the Oya deity)

Calabashes are vessels made from a certain type/species of melon. Before colonization, they were used extensively by the Yoruba people for house hold use,and a variety of other purposes like worship and festivals.

• For example, this blue calabash is used by the worshippers of the Yemoja deity.

The carvers use special tools to smoothen and paint the calabashes during the manufacturing process. They use different art and designs for different purposes. For instance, a calabash for household use is designed differently from that for festival use.
With the advent of modernization, people stopped employing the use of calabashes for household use and resorted to using modern household wares like plastics and aluminium.

I had an amazing time in the village with my course mates and friends. @adejoke16 gave me a wig 😂

On the last night, we built a huge Bon fire,played games and danced around it.

I look forward to going to the village again and learning about another craft!! 😍😍