Fragments of terracotta sculptures discovered during building operations at Egberen Street in Owo, Nigeria, in the late 1960s marked the beginning of one of West Africa's most significant archaeological investigations. Professor Ekpo Eyo, then Director of the Federal Department of Antiquities, conducted the first systematic excavation at Igbo Laja grove in 1969, unearthing hundreds of clay sculptures that demonstrated stylistic elements from both Ife and Benin artistic traditions. Radiocarbon dating placed these works in the 15th century CE, a period when Owo occupied a strategic position between the declining Ife kingdom and the expanding Benin empire. The sculptures, ranging from human heads to ritual vessels depicting supernatural beings, provide documentation of a complex religious system centered on sacrifice and ancestral veneration. Owo lies 75 miles northwest of Benin City and 100 miles east of Ile-Ife in present-day Ondo State, positioning the town at a cultural crossroads where Yoruba and Edo influences converged.
Material and Craftsmanship
Owo sculptors fabricated their terracotta pieces from coarse-grained clay mixed with silica and grog, the crushed fragments of previously fired pottery added to prevent cracking during firing. This composite material allowed construction of hollow sculptures with walls thin enough to fire successfully while maintaining structural integrity. The clay was hand-modeled using both additive and subtractive techniques, building up forms through coiling and slab construction, then carving away excess material to define features.
The manufacturing process began with preparing the clay body, removing large stones and organic inclusions while retaining the coarse texture that facilitated drying. Sculptors worked the basic form while the clay remained plastic, establishing proportions and general anatomy. As the piece stiffened to leather-hard consistency, carvers incised fine details including facial features, body scarification patterns, and textile designs. Surface decorations simulating beadwork were applied as raised relief elements, individually shaped and attached with slip.
Facial striations, the parallel grooves running vertically down cheeks and foreheads, were cut into semi-dry surfaces using sharp tools. These marks varied in number and pattern between individual pieces, suggesting they documented specific ethnic affiliations or social distinctions rather than following standardized templates. Some figures display plain faces without scarification, potentially indicating different origins or representing particular social categories.
Jewelry and costume elements required exceptional patience and technical skill. Coral bead necklaces appearing as stacked rings around necks were built up through multiple applications of small clay pellets, each individually shaped and positioned. Bracelets and anklets received similar treatment, with some examples showing individual beads numbering in the hundreds. Wrist and arm decorations extended from hands to elbows on certain figures, documenting the elaborate personal adornment practiced by Owo elites.
The firing process occurred in open bonfire kilns, covering prepared sculptures with grass, twigs, and leaves before igniting the fuel. Temperatures reached approximately 700 to 900 degrees Celsius, sufficient to harden the clay without vitrification. Firing duration extended over several hours, after which pieces were allowed to cool gradually within the ash beds. The coarse clay body and hollow construction prevented thermal shock that would shatter denser ceramics during rapid temperature changes.
Many Owo terracottas exhibit reddish-brown to orange coloration resulting from iron oxide in the clay oxidizing during firing. Some pieces show dark patches or smoke clouds where fuel contacted surfaces, creating varied color patterns across individual sculptures. The burnishing applied to some surfaces before firing created glossy areas contrasting with matte unpolished sections, adding visual interest through texture variation.
Form and Features
Owo terracotta sculptures document a wide range of human subjects and supernatural beings. Human figures appear as complete bodies, partial torsos, isolated heads, and individual body parts including hands and arms. Animal representations include rams, leopards, and serpents, often incorporated into composite forms merging human and animal attributes. Ritual vessels feature turbaned faces with snakes emerging from nostrils, a motif shared with both Ife and Benin iconography.
The human heads display facial features ranging from naturalistic portraiture to stylized conventions. Eyes are typically almond-shaped with defined upper lids. Noses show various forms from broad and flat to narrow and aquiline. Mouths are prominently modeled with full lips, often thicker than those found on Ife terracottas. Some heads show bearded men with realistically rendered facial hair, while others depict smooth-faced individuals. One notable piece shows a bearded man with a frowning expression, his features conveying tension or displeasure. Another sculpture represents a bare-chested man with a smiling face, documenting the range of emotional expression Owo artists captured.
Headwear provides important social information. Many figures wear elaborately designed caps or turbans, some decorated with geometric patterns or ornamental devices. Royal or high-status individuals display coral bead crowns similar to those worn by the Olowo, Owo's traditional ruler. The coral beads are rendered as small spherical elements covering cap-shaped bases, creating textured surfaces simulating actual beadwork regalia.
Body scarification appears as raised keloids on some figures, particularly those showing Benin stylistic influence. These raised marks differ from the incised striations common on Ife-style pieces, documenting different cultural practices or ethnic identities within Owo's population. The combination of both scarification types on Igbo Laja materials demonstrates the artistic synthesis occurring as craftspeople integrated multiple visual traditions.
Beaded jewelry appears with remarkable frequency and elaboration. Necklaces consist of multiple strands arranged in graduated tiers extending from chin to chest. Arms are often covered from wrist to shoulder with bracelets and armlets, some pieces showing ten or more individual bands. Hands display rings on multiple fingers, and waists carry beaded belts or hip ornaments. This extensive jewelry documentation provides evidence of the wealth and social stratification within 15th-century Owo society.
Certain sculptures depict figures holding ritual objects. One hand, heavily beaded at the wrist, presents an akoko leaf, a plant material used in chieftaincy installation rites and believed to confer longevity and successful reigns. Another beaded hand holds what appears to be a lizard or rat, the fingers decorated with a ring. These object-bearing hands likely formed parts of larger figures engaged in ceremonial activities, though the complete sculptures have not survived intact.
Function and Use
The concentration of terracotta sculptures at Igbo Laja suggests the site functioned as a religious center rather than a residential area. The arrangement of pieces on a single level without stratigraphic superposition indicates they were deposited during a relatively brief period, possibly as a single act of decommissioning rather than gradual accumulation. The discovery of a pit dug into the main concentration, containing unrelated terracotta fragments with later radiocarbon dates, demonstrates intentional burial and later retrieval of sacred objects.
Evidence suggests the sculptures originally stood on an altar, possibly within a mud-walled structure that eventually collapsed or was deliberately destroyed. The fragmentation patterns show systematic breakage rather than accidental damage, with particular attention to severing heads, limbs, and other anatomically significant parts. This deliberate destruction may have rendered the objects spiritually inactive or transferred their power to new vessels.
Most Igbo Laja materials relate thematically to sacrifice and ritual appeals for divine assistance during crises including war, famine, and epidemic. The historical connection to Queen Oronsen and the annual Igogo festival provides context for understanding these objects' religious significance. According to oral tradition, Oronsen, wife of Olowo Rerengejen who reigned over 600 years ago, was an orisha, a deity who had taken human form. When palace conflicts drove her away, she departed leaving behind requirements for annual sacrifices of 200 different items including dried fish, kola nuts, alligator pepper, and bitter cola.
A terracotta image excavated from Igbo Laja depicts Queen Oronsen herself, confirming the site's association with her cult. The annual Igogo festival continues to honor Oronsen, requiring the current Olowo and high chiefs to dress as women wearing coral beads, beaded gowns, and plaited hair. During the festival, men are forbidden to wear headgear or caps, drums cannot be beaten, and guns cannot be fired, restrictions that invert normal social hierarchies and gender presentations.
The ritual vessels showing turbaned faces with serpents emerging from nostrils connect to broader West African iconography of transformation and supernatural power. Serpents commonly represent spiritual forces capable of bridging human and divine realms. The combination of human facial features with serpentine elements documents concepts of metamorphosis or possession, states in which deities occupied human bodies to communicate with worshippers.
Cultural Context
Owo traces its origins to migration from Ile-Ife, the sacred city considered the birthplace of Yoruba civilization. Oral tradition identifies Ojugbelu, youngest of Oduduwa's 16 children, as Owo's founder. While his brothers divided their father's property and established other kingdoms, Ojugbelu was absent hunting. Upon returning to find his inheritance distributed, he gathered remaining possessions and traveled eastward, eventually founding Owo and becoming its first Olowo around 1100 CE.
The town's location between Ife and Benin exposed it to influences from both kingdoms. During the 15th century, when the Igbo Laja terracottas were created, Ife was declining in power while Benin was expanding its territorial control. Owo maintained political independence but paid tribute to Benin on occasion, and diplomatic relations involved substantial cultural exchange in both directions.
The visit of Prince Osogboye to Benin during the 16th century, referenced in both Owo and Benin historical accounts, illustrates this complex relationship. Benin sources describe Osogboye as coming to adopt prestigious forms of Edo courtly culture, while Owo historians claim he went to learn military techniques to defend against Benin aggression. Regardless of the visit's primary purpose, Osogboye returned with cultural materials and knowledge of their production methods, enriching Owo's artistic repertoire.
The terracotta evidence documents this cultural synthesis. Pieces showing Ife-style facial striations coexist with sculptures displaying Benin-type raised keloid scarification. Some works combine elements from both traditions on single objects, creating hybrid forms unique to Owo. A third category, designated Owo style for convenience, differs from both Ife and Benin conventions, demonstrating local artistic innovation rather than simple borrowing.
The extensive beadwork depicted on Owo terracottas reflects the high value placed on coral beads throughout Yoruba and Edo societies. Coral served as a marker of royal and aristocratic status, its red color associating it with spiritual power and ancestral authority. The Olowo wore coral bead crowns, and high-ranking chiefs displayed coral jewelry as signs of their positions. The terracotta documentation of elaborate beaded costumes indicates 15th-century Owo possessed sufficient wealth to acquire large quantities of coral, which had to be imported from Mediterranean sources through trans-Saharan trade networks.
The architectural context of Owo terracottas relates to the Olowo Palace, which contained as many as 100 courtyards, each dedicated to specific deities or functions. The largest courtyard, twice the size of an American football field, hosted public assemblies and festivals. Some courtyards were paved with quartz pebbles or broken pottery. Pillars supporting veranda roofs were carved with images of the king mounted on horses or shown with senior wives. This architectural elaboration created a built environment saturated with symbolic references to royal power and divine authority.
Discovery and Preservation
Chief Justus Akeredolu of the Owo Museum recognized the significance of terracotta fragments discovered during building operations at Egberen Street in the late 1960s. The location, north of Okiti-Asegbo hill where Owo oral tradition claims the town's founders first settled after leaving Ife, suggested archaeological importance. Akeredolu's notification of authorities initiated the formal investigation that led to Ekpo Eyo's excavations.
Eyo conducted systematic excavations at Igbo Laja grove between 1969 and 1971 under the auspices of the Department of Antiquities of the Government of Nigeria. The excavation strategy involved opening trenches to locate concentrations of cultural materials, then expanding excavation areas to recover complete contextual information. The team documented spatial relationships between objects, recorded soil characteristics, and collected samples for radiocarbon dating.
The main concentration yielded primarily terracotta sculptures depicting human and animal forms, though excavators also recovered polished stone axes, cowrie shells, palm nuts, and fragments of metal gongs. The diversity of materials documented multiple aspects of ritual practice beyond ceramic sculpture alone. The polished stone axes may have served as ceremonial tools or symbols of authority rather than practical implements. Cowrie shells functioned as currency throughout West Africa and also carried ritual significance. Palm nuts were essential to Ifa divination, the primary system for communicating with spiritual forces in Yoruba religious practice. Metal gongs provided musical accompaniment during ceremonies.
Radiocarbon samples from the main concentration provided dates centering on the 15th century CE. The pit dug into this concentration contained materials dating to a later period, establishing that the site experienced multiple phases of use and deposition. This stratigraphic evidence allowed archaeologists to distinguish between the original deposition of terracottas and subsequent activities at the location.
The fragmentation of the sculptures posed challenges for interpretation and presentation. Most pieces survived only as isolated heads, partial torsos, or individual limbs. Few complete figures could be reconstructed from fragments. This pervasive breakage, whether resulting from deliberate ritual destruction or natural degradation over centuries, limited the amount of information recoverable about original forms and contexts.
The Owo Museum, founded in 1968 to accommodate antiquities formerly housed in the Olowo Palace, received the Igbo Laja materials. The museum's establishment preceded the excavations by one year, suggesting that earlier discoveries had already demonstrated the need for dedicated curatorial facilities. The museum's collection includes the terracotta sculptures alongside ethnographic materials documenting continuity between ancient practices and contemporary Owo culture.
Anthonia K. Fatunsin, the first Nigerian female archaeologist and first Nigerian woman to head National Museum Ibadan, contributed to Owo archaeological research during her career. Her involvement represented the growing Nigerian participation in studying the nation's archaeological heritage, moving beyond the colonial-era pattern of European and American researchers dominating West African archaeology.
The National Museum in Lagos holds several significant Owo terracottas in its collection, including a half-figure wearing a designed cap with full beaded neck and hands. This piece, catalogued as originating from Igbo Laja near Okiti-Asegbo and dating to the 15th century, measures 25.5 centimeters in height. The sculpture's fragmentary condition, with parts of the hands chopped off, typifies the preservation state of most Igbo Laja materials.
Why It Matters
The Owo terracottas provide archaeological documentation of cultural synthesis occurring at the intersection of Ife and Benin spheres of influence during the 15th century. The coexistence of Ife-style striations, Benin-type keloids, and distinctly Owo artistic conventions on materials from a single archaeological context demonstrates how artistic traditions merged and transformed through contact. The sculptures document specific ritual practices centered on the Queen Oronsen cult and related sacrificial systems that continue in modified form through the annual Igogo festival. The elaborate beadwork confirms the wealth and social stratification of 15th-century Owo society, indicating participation in long-distance trade networks that brought Mediterranean coral to sub-Saharan Africa. The systematic excavation and publication of the Igbo Laja materials by Nigerian archaeologists including Ekpo Eyo and Anthonia Fatunsin marked important steps in the development of indigenous African archaeological practice.