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Ways of the Rivers: Arts and Environment of the Niger Delta
African Arts, Autumn, 2003 by Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie
The above criticism does not detract from the exhibition's success. The fact that "Ways of the Rivers" allowed us to raise these issues in the first place attests to the great effort and intellectual integrity of its organizers, given the sheer scope of the project and its meticulous documentation. Above all, the exhibition succeeded in actualizing the voices of Niger Delta populations, whose explanation of why they do what they do was incorporated into the critical analysis of different cultural forms. These indigenous explanations point to the value of narratives in the construction of identity and may not be easily discounted.
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Consider in this respect two of the most enigmatic artworks on display in the exhibition, identified in the catalogue (p. 206) as mask headdresses of Ijebu Yoruba or Ijo origin, hence of indeterminate provenance. These masks combine avian and marine animal characteristics with the tusks and horns of land animals. Their somber colors and white-striped bands render them even more enigmatic. This kind of fantastical (or phantasmagoric) agglomeration is common in Niger Delta symbolic forms and can be seen to great effect in the Isoko ivri sculptures, a wide selection of which was on display. Despite their erudite scholarship and the meticulous identification of the exhibition's art objects, the authors were compelled to concede that although these two mask headdresses represent powerful spirits, their actual origins can no longer be identified. This fact in no way enables a conclusion that knowledge about the mask has been lost to its users. Rather it reaffirms that although one can experience and interact with masked spirits, they are basically unknowable. A confrontation with a masked spirit negates witnessing. The viewer or acolyte comes to terms with his inability to comprehend mystery represented by the masked spirit; he confesses his ignorance precisely so that he may be informed and enlightened.
Above all, this desire to be enlightened provided a structure for the curators in their attitude toward "Ways of the Rivers." Anderson and Peek recognized that no one exhibition can do justice to the complex environment and politics of the Niger Delta, and they structured their engagement with the subject(s) accordingly. They are to be commended for their honesty and intellectual integrity, and also for producing an excellent exhibition that enlightened its audience on the culturally impressive and politically troubling environment of the Niger Delta.
(1.) See, for instance, Thompson 1989:107-8. Thompson argues that "ethnic processes in the 'underdeveloped' world have been relatively recent historical creations of colonialism and imperialism and the subsequent post-colonial period in which primordial communities have become integrated into new and often unstable state structures."
(2.) The Fowler Museum prefers that the accompanying publication (Anderson & Peek 2002) be called a book. I continue to use the word "catalogue" in recognition of the fact that the book reproduces the discourse of the exhibition even though several of its authors provided critical examination of Niger Delta cultures.
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