Ejagham
Emblem of the Leopard Spirit Society (Nkpa)
Ejagham, late 20th Century
Scroll
Ejagham
Emblem of the Leopard Spirit Society (Nkpa)
Ejagham, late 20th Century
Physical Qualities
Reed, animal skulls (bovine, baboon, crocodile, deer, antelope, and others), grasses, leaf midrib brooms, wood, sheep and goat horns, gourd, twine and encrustation, 128 x 112 x 28 cm. (50 3/8 x 44 1/8 x 11 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Robert and Mary Cumming, Baltimore
Object Number
2002.609
Reed, animal skulls (bovine, baboon, crocodile, deer, antelope, and others), grasses, leaf midrib brooms, wood, sheep and goat horns, gourd, twine, and encrustation. The power of the Leopard Spirit Society (Ngbe)— a secret association with legislative and judicial authority—is dramatically visualized on its striking emblem (nkpa). Accumulated skulls represent the animals killed and eaten by society members, while brooms symbolize the group’s ability to sweep away harmful magic. All elements surround a central drum, which was beaten to make announcements to the community.
"Crosscurrents of Culture: Arts of Africa and the Americas in Alabama Collections," Birmingham Museum of Art, May 18-August 31, 1997
"Subverting Beauty: African Anti-Aesthetics", Jul 15, 2018 - Nov 17, 2019, BMA, Kevin Tervala.
"Subverting Beauty: African Anti-Aesthetics", Jul 15, 2018 - Nov 17, 2019, BMA, Kevin Tervala.
Manuel Jordan and Mary Villadsen, "Crosscurrents of Culture: Arts of Africa and the Americas in Alabama," Birmingham, AL: Birmingham Museum of Art, 1997: Page 22
