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Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Commemorative Post (Vigango)
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
© Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. All rights reserved.

Commemorative Post (Vigango)

Artist/Maker (Kenya)
Datelate 19th century
Mediumwood and pigment
DimensionsOverall: 66 1/4 x 6 1/2 x 3 in. (168.3 x 16.5 x 7.6 cm)
ClassificationsVisual Works
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Terms
    Object number92.0036.01
    DescriptionCommemorative posts, or vigango, honor especially influential and important deceased members of Gohu, a men's graded initiation association. They are erected in special shelters where the living members of the group meet and where the most important elders live. Offerings are made at the base of each figure as a gesture of respect for revered ancestors. In form, these figures are part of a widespread distribution of vertical shaft or pole-like funerary markers throughout East Africa, from Ethiopia in the north to Zimbabwe in the south. The Giryama version of this tradition consists of flat planks decorated with chip carving in a manner similar to that practiced by the Swahili from the old cities along the East Africa coast. The geometric designs on the posts suggest body decoration or anatomical elements such as a navel, nipples, or hands folded across the abdomen. The simple round heads may be a reference to the shaving of men's heads when they are initiated into Gohu.
    On View
    Not on view
    Collections
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Giriama people
    late 19th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Giriama people
    20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Nigeria, Igbo people
    20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Ejagham people
    20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Dogon people
    20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Bamileke people
    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Artist Unknown
    20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Calima
    300-1300
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    ca. 1675
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Artist Unknown
    1934-1936 (printed 1992)
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Iban Dayak people
    20th century