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Ofo, Uxurhe, and Ikenga from North Ika

Image Artifacts
A collection of carved wooden Ofo, uxurhe and Ikenga artifacts from North Ika.
Ofo, uxurhe and other pieces [includes Ikenga], North Ika.

A monochromatic archival photograph depicting a collection of three carved wooden objects from North Ika. On the left is a carved pedestal or vessel with a ribbed rim and a conical base. In the center is an elongated vertical staff, identified as an uxurhe, featuring a carved human figure at the apex and a textured shaft with horizontal bands. On the right is a complex sculptural assemblage, including an Ikenga, characterized by pointed appendages and a carved face, resting on a textured organic base and a white substrate of hide or cloth. The objects are positioned against a weathered vertical wall.

Community Notes

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 01, 2026

The uxurhe is an ancestral rattle-staff utilized by both Edo and Western Igbo/Ika populations, where each segment or joint along the staff typically signifies a generation of ancestors, as detailed by 101 Last Tribes.

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 01, 2026

As noted by Ozi Ikòrò, the Ofo serves as a vital symbol of truth, justice, and ancestral authority in Igbo society, acting as a spiritual link between the living, the dead, and future generations, typically held by the family Okpara (first son).

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 01, 2026

This archival photograph is cataloged as item ika1 within the G.I. Jones collection at the Jones Archive at Southern Illinois University, which also contains related documentation of ancestral shrines and mud figures in North Ika.

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