Abstract
Obas are traditional heads of towns, villages and communities in African societies. They are custodians and preservers of culture, spiritual and political heads in their various locations. Obas are the same as Kings as found in other communities of the world. Oba in Yoruba means someone that has an authority on his subjects. Primary and secondary sources of data are used in this study. Art historical approaches, oral interviews, and descriptive analysis were employed for data collection. Obas oversee the running of their communities and perform various roles. There are specific families of the communities that are appointed as Obas as chosen by Ifa divinity as against the elections of leaders as introduced by the western societies. They uphold cultures of their fore fathers and keep the culture and traditions in high esteem. Even though, the western cultures have interfered with the original heritage, customs and traditions, they are still the authentic representatives of African rich cultural practices. The practices in their various palaces, dressing modes, food preparation, entertainment of guests, preservation of museums, promotion of traditional and creative skills such as crown making, carvings, drum making, jewelry smithing, cloth and mat weaving attest to this. Cultural practices such as traditional festivals are unique to many of them. We review how Obas over the years have served as cultural ambassadors within and outside their palaces as well as agents of anti-imperialism when it comes to performances of their traditional functions especially within their domains.
Presenters
Ademola AzeezScholar/Administrator, Fine and Applied Arts and Provostry, Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria Wahab Ademola Azeez
Administrator/Teacher, Provostry/Fine and Applied Arts , Federal College of Education (Technical) Akoka, Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
OBA, CULTURAL AMBASSADORS, TRADITION, CUSTODIANS, ANTI- IMPERIALISM
