By Salako Ebun

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In Nigeria, not only Ife people are known for terracotta making. We have Nok terracotta and Ife terracotta in an age of cyber technology and mass-produced molded products. It is rewarding to craft with our own hands, a work of personal expression made from a material.

What is terracotta?

Terracotta is described as hard, brownish-red fired clay usually unglazed that is used for architectural ornaments, pottery, and as a material for sculpture. It can also be defined as glazed or unglazed baked clay, especially for statutes and vases and architectural purposes (such as roofing, facing, and relief ornamentation).

Ife terracotta

Terracotta sculpture is as old as bronze casting in Ile–Ife. If art is the most classical and the most famous naturalistic art that is compared to Greek art, the envy of the European Renaissance. The first Ife art to be known to the outside world is glass beads, seen by the Lander brothers in 1832. The spread of the news of the existence of a high civilization in Nigeria motivated many Europeans like FROBENIUS (who was interested in lookup) to come to Ile-Ife in 1910. This was deduced by FROBENIUS when excavations were done in some sacred groove in Ile–Ife, where he was able to discover some terracotta sculptures and bronze heads simultaneously. Some Ife terracotta heads were discovered in a broken state and they are not unlikely to be effigies of traditional rulers. For instance, the head excavated at Ita – Yemoo groove had erosion which stands as a symbol of royalty in the contemporary Ile-Ife town.

Generally, Ife terracotta effigies were conical in shape. Some of these heads have striated faces, while some don’t; only the lips of some were striated and a few heads have holes on their upper lips and chin. Apart from terracotta heads, there were stools of terracotta seating and a life-size terracotta figure. However, it was discovered half shattered (this can be found in Ife museum).

Among the finds collected while excavating the sacred groove at Ile-Ife was Olokun (the gods of the sea and health) the center of attraction. It was recognized because of the naturalistic nature of this form. Olokun is the Yoruba god of sea and health. At almost the same time as FROBENIUS published his findings, the British Museum published in 1911, a photograph of a plaster cast of a fragment terracotta head as in Figure 2. Terracotta making can be associated with some families in Ile – Ife i.e. not every family in Ile-Ife knows the art of terracotta making.

Procedures or stages of terracotta making

* Getting clay

No clay, no modeling, not to talk of terracotta making. Before embarking on the making of terracotta at all, a good quantity and quality of clay must be obtained. Plastic clay can be obtained by digging the ground up to four or five feet before getting the original plastic clay. This locally available plastic clay after digging is kept for at least one week.

* Grinding and serving of clay

Here, the already gotten locally available clay is processed by pounding or grinding it properly to get smooth, dried clay, and later the sand from the original clay by using a sieve (the earth usually undergoes screening and grinding to remove impurities and to ensure it is fine and pure). Moreover, a small amount of white grit is added to the earth to strengthen its mechanical properties which allows the large terracotta to be easily shaped.

* Kneading

The already processed clay can be soaked in a bowl of water and after proper setting of the clay down, the water on top will be drained off and then the artisan begins to press the clay to get elasticity or plastic clay. The already processed clay is pressed properly by adding water to it gradually to get elastic clay.

* Figure creation (core)

Molding of the terracotta head or ORI OLOKUN starts here. The shaping of the head is generally acknowledged to be the most difficult and the procedure is very complicated. First, the artisans mold an inner core roughly in head shape and neck, then join the head and neck together and apply several layers of clay to get the facial shape i.e. Olokun shape and likewise, it is other figurehead shapes. Finally, by carving, scraping (subtraction), and pasting (addition), artisans successively draw the eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair buns, and hat decorations for the head of terracotta. After this stage, the artisans cover the object with polythene for two days in preparation for the next stage.

* Scooping and dressing

After the carving, scrapping, and pasting (addition and subtraction) of clay by the artisans to get all the head features, here comes the dressing by making the face smooth properly, then start to dress the face as you want it, like in the case of Ori Olokun face striated or scarification i.e. using the pointed tool to draw lines on its face or leave it plain. Then leave it for two days to dry a little bit. Then scoop it with a scooping tool to make the figure light and leave it for at least a week or more for the object to dry properly.

* Firing

The figures of the Ori Olokun terracotta were fired in the furnace. To be well-ventilated, the artisan leaves the figure in the appropriate position in case the head is covered through which the flames could evenly enter the body cavity.

* Glueing

This is the final stage. In case there is any breakage in the process of firing, the artisans leave it for three days for the pieces to get cool and then use a strong ceramic glue to join the pieces together firmly.  Let the glue dry completely before joining the pieces together. 

Arts practice on the decline in Ile-Ife. why?

There are several reasons for the decline of the practice of arts in Ile –Ife investigations revealed that chief among the factors for this decline is the fact that the income of the artisans is not commensurate with the effort put in.

Most IFE artists this day commercialize their products i.e. they sell all that they produce instead of keeping some as antiquities. Hence, the government should come to their aid either by compensating them for any work produced or providing subvention to the artist.

Some families are noted for one or two types of artwork but who presently are hardily engaging in such artwork again. Consequently, it is hereby recommended that the government should constitute a committee to investigate this problem and proffer solutions.

Conclusion

Finally, the Artists themselves have the responsibility of presenting their predicaments to both the public and private sectors. Government at tiers; (Local, State, and Federal) have very significant roles to play if the practice of art is to be sustained. They should note that ARTS in any form can also be a medium of not only internally generated revenue but also strengthen the nation’s foreign exchange as arts constitute part of the tourism world which can be a source of revenue if properly handled.

Salako is a staff of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments [NCMM], Akure.