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Traditional Igbo Architecture: A Symbolic Evaluation

2022; UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center; Volume: 55; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1162/afar_a_00657

1937-2108

Chinedu Ene-Orji,

Architecture and Cultural Influences

In Things Fall Apart (1958) and Arrow of God (1964), Chinua Achebe was concerned to show that Africans before the intervention of Europeans had culture, government, religion, philosophy, astronomy, music, dance, science, art, and architecture. These novels were set in the precolonial era, toward the onset of colonization in Igboland in Eastern Nigeria (Fig. 1). Traditional architecture has long been used as an index to measure humankind's state of development or their response to their environment in terms of using available materials to afford protection over the elements, animals, and fellow people. Beyond these basic essentials, however, Vitruvius, in his treatise De Architectura Litori Decem (27–23 Bce) considered philosophy, music, meteorology, astronomy, and engineering as related to architecture (Dmochowski 1990: v). It is within these and other contexts—like environment, religion, tradition and language—that traditional Igbo architecture will be examined to illustrate its symbolic attributes in this essay.Labelle Prussin (1969: 1) considers architecture first as a building process where humans manipulate materials at their disposal and hence as building technology. It is also seen as a concept that examines the nature and quality of the space created. Finally it is considered as the sublimation of a culture's symbolism and therefore an array of its graphic and formal system of values. Similarly, Aniakor (2002: 273) appraises Igbo architecture within the matrix of society's ideas, symbolism, space, building materials, and technology.Even when one views Igbo architecture as the art of space and space organization, a building is a spatial entity formally quantified into three-dimensional form as a structure. This is made possible by master builders who manipulate available materials to form distinct styles of architecture. The skill is a form of expertise, but the building design derives from ideas of the society. This interplay among form, symbol, idea, and expertise is crucial to any understanding of Igbo architecture. Aniakor further notes that “the ability of architecture to symbolize derives from the fact that it is a social institution and thus lies in the social matrix of the human society” (2002: 273).Traditional Igbo architecture, an aspect of the people's material culture and artistic heritage, will be shown to intersect with and be contiguous with other components of Igbo cultural attributes, worldview, and mores using aspects of the fictive, but materially valid, environment in the novels Things Fall Apart1 (Achebe 1958) and Arrow of God2 (Achebe 1964).Compound spatial organization comprises the orientation of house units, gates, and other architectural components like barns, flora, shrines, or religious installations and sundry other elements within the space circumscribed by the compound wall. While the spatial organization of the compound is almost universal in Igboland, it has local variations determined by available building materials and technology, existing weather and topography, and the profession and social status of the owner of the compound. The aggregation of these compounds constitutes family groups known as kindred or umunna (meaning “the children of our father, the progenitor of that lineage, family group, or kindred”).3 Multiple umunnas form the village or quarter. The quarters aggregate to form the town, clan, or village group.In Things Fall Apart, Achebe describes the spatial organization of Okonkwo's homestead, using it to show his social status, professional achievement as a farmer, religion, and family size, indicating mud as the major building material and setting the stage for telling his story:It becomes obvious that a man's social status and wealth determines the size of his compound. This is denoted by the number of wives and children he has who are quartered in separate huts. Igbo society was entirely agrarian, so all men were firstly farmers. The farmer's industry determines the size of his barn. If he practices any ancillary profession, he provides a workspace for it. This could be blacksmithing, sculpting, wine tapping, priesthood, divination, herbal and psychic therapy. Basketry or wickerwork was a general practice among the men and boys; while pottery, wall resurfacing, and decoration or murals were exclusive to women.The family head or father of the compound lives in a hut known as the obi, placed strategically near the entrance gate of his compound. This house unit has assumed symbolic and cultural meaning. Cole and Aniakor, in their book Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos, describe the obi thus:Thus in Arrow of God, Ezeulu's obi is portrayed with features adapted to suit his cultic function as the chief priest of Ulu.4 The chief priest's duties include keeping the lunar calendar by announcing the emergence of the new moon and commencement of a new month by the ritual eating of a sacred yam. According to Achebe:The interior of Ezeulu's obi shows its adaptation for his job of moon watching, personal and guests' comfort, and spiritual engagements:The obi performs several strategic functions, among them serving as the platform for grooming children, receiving visitors, and hosting family gatherings. It is also the site for marriage negotiations and dispute resolution (Figs. 2–3). When Okonkwo needs seed yams to start off on his own and approaches Nwakibie, a prosperous farmer, for assistance, the negotiation takes place in Nwakibie's obi: “He took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie. Two elderly neighbours were sent for and Nwakibie's two grown-up sons were also present in his obi” (Achebe 1958: 15).The task of grooming children was not the preserve of women, especially the grooming of teenage boys. This was especially so when there was no formal or Western mode of education. So, after a day of work outdoors, life was lived indoors at night: “At such times in each of the countless thatched huts of Umuofia, children sat around their mother's cooking fire telling stories, or with their father in his obi warming themselves from a log fire, roasting and eating maize” (Achebe 1958: 27).The woman's hut, known as mkpuke, was usually smaller than the obi (Fig. 4). It was natural for young men and teenage boys to gravitate toward their father and his occupations. A man was first a farmer and any among several other occupations. Okonkwo was a prosperous farmer, famous wrestler, and great warrior: “So Okonkwo encouraged the boys to sit with him in his obi and he told them stories of the land—masculine stories of violence and bloodshed” (Achebe 1958: 42).Marriage comes through in the novels as a process of tying together two families and starting off a new one. The entire negotiation is done in the bride's father's obi, because of the privacy it provided and the celebration and entertainment entailed: “There were seven men in Obierika's hut when Okonkwo returned. The suitor was a young man of about twenty-five, and with him were his father and uncle. On Obierika's side were his two elder brothers and Maduka his sixteen year old son” (Achebe 1958: 55).The consummation of marriage is also done in the obi:The obi is usually the repository of a man's personal and family idols, his residence and, because of its strategic concrete and conceptual importance, it was usually fortified with idols, charms, fetishes, and other magical or occult potencies. In addition to receiving visitors in the obi, the owner performs sundry tasks there:The obi is the axis around which family life rotates, in the physical, symbolic, and conceptual directions. It is the administrative platform in a compound. There the family head lives and receives visitors; takes major decisions; and executes some religious, domestic, and professional tasks. In fact, the obi is so strategic that life is conceived in it; in most cases the owner dies in it and is sometimes buried in it.Architectural symbolism is pertinent to all the physical, spiritual, psychic, metaphoric, linguistic, and artistic attributes that a building connotes or denotes, as well as cultural practices that have come to be associated with a house unit or architectural space, as a reflection of a people's worldview or belief system. Hence, for as long as a man is alive, his obi exists as a symbolic representation of his person, family, and compound. This is reflected in the people's speech and behavioral responses to situations:Edogo moved into his father's obi temporarily, in a symbolic fashion, to sit in his stead until he returned. This is in consonance with the saying: “When a king exits another replaces him.” The Igbo abhor vacuum.Since architecture is also space management, the spatial orientation of buildings comes into focus. Compound organization also reflects a people's worldview:The spatial orientation of compounds illustrates a people's way of life and even dying because it also dictates the situation of graves and the performance of burial rites.The building process was a communal undertaking, where general and specialized labor was contributed. The building materials also dictated that construction must take place in the dry season after the cropping season. Achebe illustrated all these in the following passage:Architectural symbolism is the sum of a people's thoughts, actions, and words located in, around, and on their house units, compounds, or built-up spaces. These meanings may be circumscribed within that society or may have a universal context. But the owners of these symbols live them, breath them, treasure them, and guard them jealously.The organic origin of most of the building materials and their inherent tendency to decay demanded periodic maintenance— work that was shared and specific to gender and season. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe shows the maintenance culture in the society:The compound walls, especially, were susceptible to erosion and were protected as illustrated in Figure 5. The women handled the task of resurfacing and decorating the compound walls: “The festival was now only three days away. Okonkwo's wives had scrubbed the walls and the huts with red earth until they reflected light. They had then drawn patterns on them in white, yellow, and dark green” (Achebe 1958: 30). Women do not participate in erecting the walls, roofing and other rigorous tasks but fetch water and run other errands. Mud used as plaster generally does not bind permanently and is susceptible to erosion due to the region's abundant rainfall.In addition to maintaining private buildings, women worked on public structures like shrines and masquerade or secret society houses, guided by a strict regimen:Women's mural painting also draws a parallel with body decoration. Women generally beautified their skin with sinuous lines and motifs drawn with juice extracted from uli pods (Rothmania whitefieldi and Cremaspora triflora;Willis 1989).This ancient art of body decoration and mural catalyzed a contemporary art movement in Nigeria in the late twentieth century (Ottenberg 1997: 8).7In addition to scrutinizing the gross structure of buildings and their interiors, structural details were also considered. Achebe, in Arrow of God, went beyond examining the building materials used to enclose space, in the form of walls and roofs, but also showed that the walls bore the substantial weight of the roof: “At that moment Oduche took his decision. There were two pythons—a big one and a small one—which lived almost entirely in his mother's hut, on top of the wall which carried the roof” (Achebe 1964: 50). The roof and roofing were also given particular attention, while the roofing materials, techniques of cladding, and structural considerations were also examined. It must be noted that a central insect-resistant wooden pillar holds the raffia rafters in place, in addition to the peripheral support of the walls where they were pinioned (Figs. 6–7). Achebe also illustrates the significance of the central pillar(s): ”Her daughter, Obiageli, and Akueke's daughter, Nkechi, were telling each other stories. Nwafo sat on the small mud-seat at the foot of the hut's central pillar watching them with a superior air and pointing out now and again their mistakes”(Achebe 1964: 64). The wooden rafters were usually held in place by ropes made from plants and forest vines.8The roofs were either clad with units of woven raffia palm leaves (akanya) or grass (aju). The raffia palms were readily available year-round, while the grass was harvested during the dry season. Because these claddings were organic, they required regular maintenance and periodic replacement: “As the sun rose the men came to the disputed farmland. It had not been cultivated for many years and was thick with browned spear grass. ‘I remember coming with my father to this very place to cut grass for our thatches,’ said Akukalia” (Achebe 1964: 19–20). Using raffia palm to clad required the additional skill of weaving the leaves together, unlike the grass, which only needed to be bunched closely in sheaves. Achebe illustrates weaving roofing sheets from raffia palm: “Obierika was sitting outside under the shade of an orange tree making thatches from the raffia-palm. He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led the way to his obi” (Achebe 1958: 51). The raffia palm leaves were woven into units of thatch (Fig. 8).It should be noted that the style of cladding the roof was also influenced by the need to protect the building's walls and even its function. This was denoted by the rising and falling of the roofs' eaves, which also determined the amount of light that was allowed in the house unit: “Obika stooped at the low eaves and came in hands first. He saluted his mother and she said ‘Nno’ without any warmth. He sat down heavily on the mud-bed”(Achebe 1964: 10).So, the style of roofing or the length of eaves depended on the amount of light and ventilation needed, including the protection provided by the walls of the house unit from the elements, especially rain. Generally, these building materials, which were readily available, were manipulated with indigenous building technology, developed over centuries and particularly suited to the weather, making the buildings environmentally efficient.The barn is a strategic aspect of every yam farmer's compound and at this time a largely agrarian economy subsisted. Therefore, everyman was expected to own a barn. The crop housed there was ‘Yam, the king of crops, a man's crop’ (Achebe 1958: 18). Yam was reverenced; had a deity, Ifejioku; a title-related society, Ezeji; and a unit of measurement, nnu, forty (Afigbo 1981: 127–28). Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart did not inherit a barn from his indolent and improvident father, Unoka. Yam, apart from providing nutrition, served several other functions. It was patrimony, a store of value, a commodity, a means of exchange, and a sacrificial good used in votive offering. Achebe illustrates Nwakibie's wealth:The size of Nwakibie's barn is used to estimate and show his wealth and the place his acumen as a yam farmer had earned for him. Hence the need to protect yams, this valuable tuberous commodity, from men, animals, and the elements by building barns situated strategically in the compound:Whatever its form, the barn is an assemblage of vertical and horizontal staves used to articulate a system of shelves where the yams are tied perpendicularly, according to species and size. Usually some of the vertical stakes are allowed to sprout branches and the horizontals are raffia palm stems (ohoro). This structure is usually roofless and fenced in with a gate (Figs. 9–10, Cover). The yam barn was a status marker, and still is, in agrarian communities (Basden 1921: 81–82).Carved doors adorned the gates and houses of men of high social rank, Ozo and Nze, and could be described as status symbols. Beyond the functional and aesthetic utility they provided, carved doors had social significance since they portrayed the owner of the compound as wealthy and cultivated enough to patronize the sculptor: “He sat down on the edge of his bed and raising his voice called Edogo's wife. She immediately came into the obi followed by her husband who had been carving an iroko door for the compound of a titled man when his wife returned” (Achebe 1964: 87). Carved doors had no religious significance nor were they endowed with spiritual or occult associations, so they could be sculpted anywhere by a competent professional:Carved doors were sculpted from large sheets of timber that fit the door or gate. They were functional in terms of security and privacy but their aesthetic aspect was so very significant that the functionality has been taken for granted (Fig. 11). These doors were almost always unique entities, characterized by linear and geometric design configurations carefully orchestrated by the sculptor9 (for details on Igbo carved doors see Neaher 1981).People have always gravitated to the search for the essence of life and this has translated into religious behavior, including worship, which demands a physical platform for engagement in the form of shrines. This need has generally been catered to by building or developing architecture. Shrines can be categorized into personal and public. Personal shrines are usually an adjunct of a room or a freestanding house unit in a compound: “What happened next was the work of Ekwensu, the bringer of evil. Akukalia rushed after Ebo, went into his obi, took the Ikenga from his shrine, rushed outside again and, while everyone stood aghast, split it in two” (Achebe 1964: 24).Public or communal shrines are generally independent structures, usually situated in groves, and are accessible to all adherents. However, a certain precinct may only be accessed by the superintending priest:Another form of communal shrine runs parallel to Achebe's description: the Igbo Mbari. Cole describes its features:These buildings housed a tableau of clay sculptures that described and celebrated the tradition of the people, alien cultures that arrived as a result of colonization, as well as absurdities. They were the work of specially selected lay members of the community who were secluded from quotidian activities while the ritual lasted and they were supervised by adepts.The Igbo have a pantheon of deities with specific attributes. This complex has evolved a system of masking with attendant architectural implications. Secluded occult houses were built for such activities and, according to Achebe, are accessible to only initiates:Architecture is denoted by the aggregation of materials and erection of structures to suit man's needs. Conversely, the wilful destruction of buildings serves religious purposes in a cathartic sense. Here a man's exile and the consequent ritual demolition of his compound serve as a deterrent and ablution—reparation to men and a sacrifice to Ana the Earth deity for the desecration of the land by homicide:Homicide (ochu), which Okonkwo had committed and which necessitated his exile and the destruction of his compound, has categories, male and female, which are described as manslaughter and murder by Western law.The religious attachments by way of symbolism and performance, especially ritualistic ones, inherent in architectural units, compounds, or spaces are denoted in communal constructions like Mbari shrines, and the catharsis sought and achieved by a community, as illustrated by the destruction of Okonkwo's compound, show the potency of tradition symbolized in compressed thoughts, words, and actions, domiciled in architecture.Architecture is an art form and a way of life, for as earlier established, building is a communal engagement that exhibits aspects of performance in the participants' singing and dancing during the execution of the project. But beyond this conceptual interpretation of architecture or building are numerous communal gatherings, festivals, and rites that bring the entire community together. These activities are usually held in the market place (ahia) or village square (ilo), a result of spatial differentiation or planning which gathers together house units into compounds, kindred groups, and quarters and carving out communal open spaces resulting in the village matrix. The village square comes into perspective by examining the nature and quality of the space created:The squares were usually equipped with benches, constructed from forked tree branches and bamboo stems, under pavilions built with tree branches as pillars and beams, and palm fronds as claddings or the clever mobilization of tree canopies or overhangs. Achebe paints a vivid picture:Each section that makes up the community may have its own, usually smaller square. The central square and the complementary smaller ones are usually a conceptual and spatial center. Aniakor discusses this phenomenon:Perhaps the open-air nature of these spaces was dictated by the fluid or anomalous design of the performances or ceremonies held in them. This notion is backed by the saying: “You do not watch the masquerade standing at a spot.” The masquerade is a highly kinetic entity whose essence is defined by its motion, voice, and costume and the sound that emanates from it, in addition to songs and music by its attendants10 (Figs. 12–13). The ilo is also where children gather to play during the day or on moonlit nights. According to Aniakor, “Major path ways lead to this vital center where ritual trees such as oji (iroko) (Milicia exelsa), ogbu (Ficus exasperata), and ofo (Detarium senegalese or Detarium guiniensis) provide shade for the audience” (1978: 46).Open space architecture is symbolic, ritualistic, and highly portentous socializing communal possessions in the form of village squares, shrines, and markets which have centripetal tendencies, physically and conceptually, and they are the axes upon which communal activities and life rotate.Speaking is an art which, when done with deliberation and élan, is an effective tool for communication and mobilization. Proverbs are condensed thoughts, mostly in the form of imagery, expressed in words to give advice or speak truth. According to Achebe (1958: 6), “Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded highly, and proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten.” Since architecture reflects a people's culture, it has carved itself into the Igbo language in the form of proverbs, metaphors, analogies, names, titles, and general expressions. All these reflect the people's world view in the form of ideology, philosophy, and religion.In one analogy, the facial scarification (ichi) previously done on the forehead as a sign of valor and high social rank among Igbo men was a painful exercise that demanded stoicism. The women practiced mbubu (another type of scarification), on their body. Like similar traditional practices, ichi became controversial and fell out of fashion (Basden 1921: 182–83). Achebe (1964: 132) lends his support to the discontinuation of this practice in the words of Ezeulu: “Did not my grandfather put a stop to ichi in Umuaro? He stood up in all his awe and said: We shall no longer carve our faces as if they were ozo doors.” Here we see Ezeulu arguing with his friend Akuebue and comparing the ichi scarification with ozo (titled men) doors in a negative context. Ordinarily, ozo doors are works of genuine craftsmanship afforded only by the wealthy and titled men in society, characterized by well-orchestrated lines and geometric shapes carved in wood. Carved doors are compared to the now grotesque ichi cicatrisation because they are inanimate and lifeless despite their aesthetic and symbolic value (Edwards 1967: 1–2).Ezeulu, while admonishing his son, Obika, uses a proverb laden with architectural imagery to drive home his point on why he should stop getting drunk and quit his friendship with Ofoedu, his spur, or face his nemesis: “We often stand in the compound of a coward to point at the ruins where a brave man used to live” (Achebe 1964: 11). This is because of Obika's predilection for dangerous brawls induced by Dutch courage. Homicide at this time carried severe punishment. The culprit was usually exiled for seven years or banished, in addition to the ritual demolition of his compound and properties.Matefi, while talking with her daughter, Ojiugo, speaks metaphorically to explain why Akueke, her daughter's elderly stepsister, was temporarily separated from her husband: “But Ojiugo's mother said it was a lie and that Akueke was headstrong and proud, the kind of woman who carried her father's compound into the house of her husband” (Achebe 1964: 10). The imagery of carrying her father's compound into her husband's house means disrespecting or not submitting to her husband because she comes from a wealthier or more influential family.Because of the impasse resultant from uneaten yams and Ezeulu's inability or perceived refusal to announce the date for the New Yam Festival, which heralds the harvesting and eating of new yams, the new Christian church presents distraught members of Umuaro an avenue to escape the hardship by offering their new yams to the Christian God as sacrifice. A significant number among the people of Umuaro take this option and elders of the community become worried: “‘It troubles me,’ he said, ‘because it looks like the saying of our ancestors that when brothers fight to death a stranger inherits their father's estate’” (Achebe 1964: 220). This is Akuebue discussing with his friend Ezeulu, the chief priest of Ulu, the move by Christians to reap the harvest of Umuaro.Ezeidemili uses metaphor and analogy to describe the awe and function of the deity Idemili, whose worship he presides over as priest, and the ceremonial and ritual benefits that accrue to him: “Idemili means Pillar of Water. As the pillar of this house holds the roof so does Idemili hold up the Raincloud in the sky so that it does not fall down. Idemili belongs to the sky and that is why I, his priest, cannot sit on bare earth” (Achebe 1964: 41).Names are also derived from architecture. They are, however, conceptual or philosophical, not merely descriptive or denotative. Here Okonkwo speaks to Obierika:Wedging this metaphor are two names, Obierika and Ezinma, that seem to answer the question Okonkwo asks his friend Obierika. Obierika is a name derived from the philosophical and conceptual definition of the obi as signifying a compound, family, or the human beings that constitute it. Obierika means an obi is unfathomable: it cannot be completely understood because it is a mystery and every compound or family is self-sufficient. This is premised on the saying that, “In a great man's obi whatever drum beat you play, there is always somebody to dance to it” (Achebe 1964: 100). A great man's obi is a good or positive phenomenon, hence the name Ezinma, a good compound. The name is however exclusive to women. Perhaps it signifies the potential that they carry, being the gender that bears children or the human capacity to replicate themselves. Similarly, the name Obika borne by Ezulu's second son translates to “the obi is greater.” Obi here symbolizes the family or the compound; hence one with family is greater. So, all over Africa, names are philosophical and mostly describe the circumstance(s) that surround the birth of the bearer.11Architecture has broader and deeper influences socioculturally among the Igbo as reflected in their spoken word, as has been illustrated. This essay has been constrained from an expansive analysis by the need for brevity and context limited to Achebe's novels Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God.Beyond the corporeal mass of traditional African architecture are the intangible attributes that have been grafted from or have been vested on it: philosophy, astronomy, religion, conceptual and tangible attributes, language, imageries, and names. All these are obvious pointers why traditional African building technology and its attributes need to be examined in detail. Corroborating Achebe's theses considered earlier, Dmochowski (1990: v), states that:Beyond national pride, what has been done with this heritage in Nigeria and Africa at large? Perhaps it is Demas Nwoko who has appropriated the most elements of traditional African architecture in the design and construction of modern buildings (Godwin and Hopwood 2007: 122). His exertions are beyond the experimental and historic model structures erected by Dmochowski in Jos, Nigeria. Contemporary African architects and builders have only grafted a minuscule from their very rich heritage.Perhaps the notion preponderant among contemporary architects is that these local building materials, concepts, and technologies do not meet the specific requirements of building today. This is not true. Perhaps other building materials are now fashionable. Possibly, building professionals are waiting for these modes to come round again in the cycle of fashion. But someone has to stoke these embers for the flame to rear its head and blaze forth. Upon closer scrutiny, it would be found that contemporary architects, builders, and research professionals can graft ideas from, adopt, and improve these indigenous building materials and borrow techniques from traditional African architecture that will solve extant problems in design and construction with the advantage of reduced cost and immediate environmental efficiency (Fig. 14). These building construction techniques thus reflect an appreciation of the thermal properties and water-resistant qualities of these building materials and the modifying impact of ecology on the different house unit designs (Aniakor 2005: 109).Finally, it would be momentous to pause and ponder, to enable one to appreciate the complexity of architecture development, from mere provision of shelter to works of art. Hence traditional African architecture is the pragmatic, conceptual, and aesthetic manifestation of man's ideals in time and space in reaction to his personal, psychic, social, and physical milieu. This becomes most evident when one considers the amount of science and technology that has been grafted into building, presently, from shacks to skyscrapers, and the quantity and quality of creative energy and thought humankind has invested in this exciting and exacting venture. The Igbo have a name, Unoka, which is paradoxically borne by the improvident and indolent father of Okonkwo, the hero in Things Fall Apart. Unoka is a philosophical reflection which means “the building is the greatest, the ultimate.”