Ewe Adan Aklama figure altar figure - Aklama - Ewe - Togo (No reserve price)

Among the numerous works of art used by the Ewe people of southeastern Ghana, there is probably none so little known [..] as the statuettes of helper spirits called "Aklama kpakpewo" or simply "Aklama". This type of cultural object mainly consists of small, mostly human figures as well as shapes from the animal and object world. They are on average 12 to 25 centimeters tall, although considerably larger examples have also been documented. With these Aklama, sacred objects of a highly private nature that are intended to grant protection and bring luck, there seems to be a similarly close bond with their owners as with the Ikenga of the Igbo and the Ile Ori of the Yoruba, which are already among the better-researched talismans from Africa. In contrast to the Ikenga and the Ile Ori, the Aklama often fulfill precisely defined functions, for example as helpers in the daily life of their worshippers. Economic prosperity, trade, crafts, hunting, fishing, the management of love and other interpersonal relationships as well as childbearing are among the concerns to which the Aklama are invoked. Given their highly specific spiritual function, it is not unusual for a person to maintain relationships with several Aklama simultaneously.

Lit.: Nii O. Quarcoopome, Aklama Hilfsgeister der Ewe und Dangme aus der Studiensammlung Horst Antes, Studienstiftung Horst Antes, Karlsruhe, 2016.