Portrait

Ikenga

Ikenga
Ikenga · from the Akala collection

Ikenga is the representation of a person's willpower connected to cosmic energies and rooted in their home. Most men forge their ikenga according to their vocation. In its right hand, it often holds the tool of the man's craft, and in its left, the fruit of his labour. Above is a warrior's ikenga with a weapon in its right hand and a skull in its left. A farmer's Ikenga may carry a hoe in the right and yam tubers in the left.


Ike + Nga \= Power + Motion/Place \= Willpower

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