Male Figure (Ofika) (late 1800s or early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Male Figure (Ofika) (late 1800s or early 1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Figures such as this, known as ofika, were central to the initiation practices and the enforcement of laws among the all-male Lilwa association, a hierarchical organization that served educational, judicial, political, economic, and ritual functions among the Mbole. Meant to instill a moral code and to act as a cautionary symbol during initiation for Lilwa novices, ofika figures are believed to represent criminals who were ritually hanged for transgressions against Lilwa laws. The figure’s encrusted surface imitates how members covered their bodies with a substance made of ashes and palm oil during burial rites.

Object facts

• Title: Male Figure (Ofika)
• Date: late 1800s or early 1900s
• Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mbole-style carver
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Wood, colorant, and upholstery studs
• Dimensions: 42.2 cm (16 5/8 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2016.33

A detail from the museum

The stripe painted down the figure's torso represents the cord used for execution.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Petridis, Constantine. “Acquisition Highlights 2016: African Art.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 57, no. 2 (March/April 2017): 17.
• Lemonedes, Heather. “Acquisition Highlights.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 58, no. 2 (March/April 2018): 6-7.
• African Arts (Winter 1996, XXIX, 1). Back cover.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.