Tete de squelette Tiv - Figurehead - crane mask - tiv - Nigeria (No reserve price)

Before the arrival of European settlers, the Tiv were known for loving to work the land, with a tendency to extend their cultivated territories beyond the boundaries allotted to them.

They eventually encroached on the lands of their neighbors, the Jukun, creating serious tensions.

At first, a peaceful compromise was reached: in exchange for a portion of their harvests, the Jukun accepted the inconvenience caused.

But as the years passed, the younger generations of Tiv decided to “forget” this arrangement. Their greater numbers allowed them to make a widespread practice of dispossessing the Jukun, without offering anything in return.

Clashes broke out...

Another account claims that, in fact, the Jukun were to blame: one day, they refused to accept their share of the grain, demanding that the land be returned before a season of abundant harvests.

This was the beginning of a tribal war. In the end, the Jukun managed to drive the Tiv from their lands.

But the Tiv, who had buried their family members on Jukun land, could no longer bring their remains back. They tried to negotiate the right to honor their dead on Jukun land, but the Jukun no longer wanted to see any Tiv on their land, even to hold memorial ceremonies for the deceased.

Rumors suggested that the Jukun were desecrating their relatives’ graves.

Desperate, the Tiv consulted the elders and diviners. They all gathered and received the revelation and its solution in a dream.

The spirits told them that their relatives buried there complained of being abandoned among their enemies and that, deep in their graves, they were angry with their descendants.

By coincidence, that year’s harvests were very poor because of an early drought, which was highly unusual.

So they took the signs seriously, expecting the worst.

The Tiv people consulted the elders and diviners again, asking them what they should do to appease their relatives’ anger.

After another dream, the diviners ordered every Tiv person to make a coffin and a miniature skeleton. It would be buried at home after the rites normally performed for the dead, and a grand funeral ceremony would be held in the main market square of the time.

That is how the idea of skeleton statues originated among the Tiv.

As time went by, they began carving increasingly larger skeletons. Each period had its own approximate size. Today, the size has a meaning: it signifies that a person is born (small skeleton), grows up (medium-sized), and then has lived a full life (large). The coffins deteriorate, but the statues eventually end up being resold.

Other objects are also used as supports, such as a caryatid seat for the skulls of the ancestors.

It is possible that this cult spread to the Ibo, who also have stylistically similar artifacts.