This saying or prayer is one of the numerous expressions among the Yorùbá about the door and its significance, not only as a physical and important aspect of their architecture, but also in their language and culture. It also alludes to its pride of place as perhaps the most decorated element of Yorùbá architecture. From private homes, to the homes of the rich, shrines, and palaces, Yorùbá doors are usually imbued with a considerable array of images and icons that proclaims the owner's identity, religion, occupation. The Yorùbá are not unique in this respect. For example, among the Dogon,1 the door is as important as the house on which it is affixed. The granary, according to Willett (2002: 176), protects the the food stored inside it, while the door is seen or referred to as an element not only for physical protection, but also as a spiritual means...
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Summer 2018
June 01 2018
This Is Our Story: Iconography of Carved Doors and Panels in Òyó Palace
Stephen Fọlárànmí
Stephen Fọlárànmí
Stephen Adéyẹmí Fọlárànmí is a Senior Lecturer and artist in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts Ọbáfémi Awólówò University, Ilé-Ifè, Nigeria. He has published scholarly articles on Yorùbá murals and architecture in many journals and chapters in five books. He has also exhibited his paintings both in Nigeria and overseas. He is the recipient of the first Hoffman Dozent for Intercultural Competence at the University of Vechta Germany, 2008/2009 session, and currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Rhodes University, SA. [email protected], [email protected]
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Stephen Fọlárànmí
Stephen Adéyẹmí Fọlárànmí is a Senior Lecturer and artist in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts Ọbáfémi Awólówò University, Ilé-Ifè, Nigeria. He has published scholarly articles on Yorùbá murals and architecture in many journals and chapters in five books. He has also exhibited his paintings both in Nigeria and overseas. He is the recipient of the first Hoffman Dozent for Intercultural Competence at the University of Vechta Germany, 2008/2009 session, and currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Rhodes University, SA. [email protected], [email protected]
Online ISSN: 1937-2108
Print ISSN: 0001-9933
© 2018 by the Regents of the University of California.
2018
The Regents of the University of California
African Arts (2018) 51 (2): 44–57.
Citation
Stephen Fọlárànmí; This Is Our Story: Iconography of Carved Doors and Panels in Òyó Palace. African Arts 2018; 51 (2): 44–57. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/afar_a_00402
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