H x W x D: 47 x 23 x 12 cm (18 1/2 x 9 1/16 x 4 3/4 in.)
H x W x D with mount: 50 x 23 x 12 cm (19 11/16 x 9 1/16 x 4 3/4 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Ghana
Date:
Early 20th century
Label Text:
Yacub Addy, Ga master drummer and National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow, identifies this figure from his family as Owula Kofi (Gentleman Kofi). He recalls that he was a child when his grandmother, Okonfo Ablaba, a traditional healer (okonfo), acquired the carving from a powerful Ga spiritual healer (tsofantse), after she officiated at the man’s funeral. He related that when the figure came to reside in the household, the children in the house were disturbed “because Owula Kofi shouted through the night.... that is, a human sounding voice which appeared to come from the statue, which shouted words loudly through the night for successive nights.” As Yacub Addy was a small child, he doesn’t remember the language or content, but he maintains that everyone in the house heard the voice and it was a frightening experience, especially for children. Because the statue was disturbing to the children in the family, Okonfo Ablaba deactivated its power by removing the material that held its spiritual power from the hole in the top of Gentleman Kofi’s head .
Owula Kofi (Gentleman Kofi) has a Ga scarification mark on his left cheek. He sports Western attire and a hairstyle known during colonial times as a “European cut.” He holds a bottle in his left hand and a traditional coconut cup in his right, indicating that he is prepared to make a traditional libation or offering. Unused for close to 70 years, the top of the bottle has been sealed, but family members note that when it was in use, it would have been filled with alcohol for libation purposes. According to the family, Akonfo Ablaba belonged to the Kpele religious cult, although the Akom, Out, and Tigari cults were all practiced by Yacub Addy’s father’s side of the family.
The Ga, who do not have a strong figure carving tradition, reside in and around Accra, Ghana’s coastal city. The literature suggests that they arrived on the Accra Plains in the 1500s. The Ga are linked culturally and linguistically with their neighbors to the east, the Dangme, and with a number of Akan groups, including the Asante, the Fante, and the Akwamu.
Description:
Standing male figure with articulated arms, sporting Western attire--dark-colored vest or jacket, belt and shoes and white trousers--and a Western-style haircut parted down the middle. The figure’s left hands carries a bottle, the right hand a gourd-shaped, coconut shell cup. The figure’s whitened face has strong features with eyes, brows and a horizontal scarification mark on the figure’s left cheek all heighted in black pigment.
Provenance:
Ga spiritual figure (tsofantse), -- to early 20th century
Okonfo Ablaba, traditional healer (okonfo), early 20th century to late 1960s
Family member, late 1960s to 2012/2013
Yacub Addy, 2012/2013 to 2013
Content Statement:
As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
Image Requests:
High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
Gift of Yacub Addy, Ga drum master and NEA National Heritage Fellow, in memory of his grandmother, Okonfo Ablaba, and his mother, Akua Hagan, Accra, Ghana
