Indigenous Wall Ornamentation in Yoruba Domestic Buildings, Osogbo As an Archetype

The origin of enrichment of walls among the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria is ambiguous, while the forms in the ornamentation of walls of the domestic building during the pre-colonial era remain inexplicit. Studies of Okediji (1989) and Campbell (2008) yielded insights into forms of ornamentation in some Yoruba shrines, but embellishment on walls of domestic buildings were common practices that were initially not seen as important, despite the richness of the forms. The indigenous practices are fading out fast, without adequate records of their existence, as old buildings are constantly lost to dilapidations and demolitions to accommodate modern developments. Forms in the ornamentation of the domestic buildings are also constantly changing in the modern world, as a result of cross-cultural influences occasioned by globalization. This result to being unknown to many youths of nowadays necessitating digging into cultural roots of the practice, to unveil the origin of the practice and documenting the forms at the inception. The study uses Osogbo, an antique Yoruba town renowned for her rich artistic culture, as an archetype for investigating the cultural roots of the practice in Yorubaland. Data generated from the field were analytically studied. This includes oral interviews with custodians of history to elicit information on the origin of embellishment on buildings; owners of antique buildings were also interviewed to generate information on the forms on their buildings. The study will serve as a reference point to future generations on the creative ingenuity of the past while keeping cultural heritage intact for future generations. It will also promote cultural consciousness, leading to the strengthening of the sense of cultural identity in the people.


Ifá ni kí ó rú'bo ìgbolé àti adìye,
Ifá asked ilé to make a sacrifice of igbole and a fowl, Meaning that: "Enemies and destroyers are only troubling themselves, as a similar attempt to destroy the house (ilé) in the time past only resulted in beauty". (That is, the application of paste concoctions to buildings ended in adding to their beauty).
This account is also narrated in Béwàjí (2008:237). Studies have provided pieces of evidence of the suitability and validity of Ifa corpus (ese Ifá), as authentic records of Yoruba oral history and as accounts of happenings of the past, which guide the present (Abímbólá, 1976:32;Ajíbádé 2002:66;and Àjàyí, 2008:312). It could be deduced from the above metaphorical excerpt from the Ifá literary corpus (Odù Ifá), that there is no art for art-sake among the Yorùbá, even as the ornamentation practice had been a functional art since its inception, aimed at solving problems. It had the dual function of performing a sacrifice and making the house cleaner, beautiful and inviting. Adéjùmò (1998:5) pointed out that ornamentation in the traditional societies was originally not meant to be just displayed for aesthetic contemplation, asserting that many of them were made out of stimulus for religious and cosmological ideas with inspirational and inherent meanings. The floor plastering Journal of Culture, Society and Development www.iiste.org ISSN 2422-8400 An International Peer-reviewed Journal Vol.57, 2020 35 was later found to harden the floor, thus reducing dust and making the floor easy to sweep. It also smoothens the floor, making it pleasurable to walk on, while repelling jiggers (Tunga penetrans) and other pests.
The earlier mentioned Ifá verse also highlights the Yoruba philosophical belief that neatness is required for radiating beauty, as the sacrifice was not complete until both the physical and spiritual dirt in the house were swept. It made people to like the house despite the odour from the cow dung. Consequently the Yoruba, including the people of Òsogbo, always sweep their floors early in the morning, with brooms (either ritualistically or ordinarily). It is logical that the beginning of ornamentation of the domestic building as a prescribed spiritual rite at the onset could have made it impossible to be vetoed and denied by the higher hierarchies. Once floor adornment was allowed in one instance, the spread must have become inevitable. Its permissive occurrence paved the way for its becoming widespread, leading to the take-off of painting or plastering of the floor of domestic buildings with weeds concoction (ìgbolé) in the pre-colonial era.
According to Mrs Nàfísátù Gbàdàmósí 5 , floor plastering and decoration in Òsogbo was at the inception the exclusive of women. It was said to be done with extracts from plants such as yunyun (aspilia latifolia), èlú (indigo ferra trees), comprising of indigo ferra arrecta, indigo ferra suffricotosa, indigo ferra tinctoria and lonchocarpus) or ìjòkùn leaves (mucuna solanei). The leaves were pounded with charcoal and cow or sheep dung (bóto or elébóto). The plastering of buildings with a mixture of mud, leaves and cow dung is explained by Denyer (1978:115); Òṣáṣọnà (1990:105); Aleru (2000:169) and Òṣáṣọnà (2005:14), although the observations of this study differ slightly from theirs.
Rather than plastering with the mixture of mud and the concoction in Òsogbo, Madam Sàdíátù Oríajé 6 explained that the dusty floors used to be first made wet with water and beaten with clubs till it hardens, which also pushes in the pebbles, leaving the floor smooth before it is left to dry. This process is corroborated by Osasona (1995:13) asserting that the process used to be repeated for several days after which a smooth, glossy and dust-proof floor is achieved. When dry, the already hardened floor would then be plastered with the prepared plant dung mixture. In the case of walls, they were said to be first plastered with yellow ochre clay, giving it a smooth plastered finish in light colour before the decoration. This process is said to be referred to as ògiri bíbó (Nafisatu Gbadamosi, op-cited). The prepared dark mixture was then used to embellish the wall after drying, (a process they called ògiri fífín, meaning wall embellishment) or ilé pípa, which means to plaster the floor). 37 Apart from the established dark wash from the herbal concoction for the ornamentation of buildings, Johnson (1921: 99) establishes the use of colours such as black, red, white and ochre in the ornamentation of domestic buildings. Bascom (1971:66) also documents the decoration of house walls with paintings of animals and geometric design, when he first visited Ile-Ifè between 1937 and 1938. This is in affinity with the mural done with a combination of black concoction, kaolin and ochre, and brown clay, in the market shrine, at Ojà-Oba Òsogbo (Figure 2), which was affirmed to be the traditional style (Òsuníta Ifájoké 7 ). The mural however, has been repainted with synthetic paints).
Entrances (enu ònà àbáwolé) are gateways to buildings; this makes them areas of paramount importance that are always seen first at a close range, giving first impressions to outsiders. This justifies their being elaborately adorned with decorative borders that mark them out. Figure 3

Combination of Mouldings and Paintings
Apart from adornment with concoctions, there are domestic buildings in the traditional zones of Òsogbo, with walls adorned with mouldings and paintings of specific anthropomorphic and zoomorphic forms in the environs, although in synthetic colours. It is pertinent to note that these forms are found in residences of traditional religious worshippers and that the portrayed art objects are those associated with the history of the town and their associated cult. One of such is the Láàrò's building (Illus. 1), erected 1938 at No. 37 Àbùbù, Street, Ìsàlè-Òsun, Òsogbo. The façade is embellished with low relief clay mouldings in indigenous style (Figures 5a-d). The frontage is painted in light pink in contrast to the olive green windows and doors, while the main entrance is enclosed with two large images of the fishes that look like the mudfish (Clariaslazera, or Clariusangolensis; Illus. 1 and Figure 5a). There is an image of a traditional perforated clay pot (ajere) centralized in the middle of the entrance. It is also worthy of note that similar portrayal of traditional religious icons and depiction of forms associated with the myth of origin of the Òsogbo is common in the ornamentation of walls, fences, and gates in the post-modern period.    The building was unfortunately demolished for road construction in August 2016.

Summary of Findings and Conclusion
Findings and images in this paper, give insight into the nature and forms of ornamentation in Yorùbáland in the 42 pre-colonial times, which constitute the cultural heritage of the people. The study reveals that Yoruba people had a very rich building ornamentation practice before the introduction of the foreign imported styles, which boost the traditional forms and improved the homegrown aesthetics. Modernization however ushered in portals and window moldings in replacement of embellishment with concoctions, while stucco wall plastering, which is permanent, replaced relief mud wall decoration. It also made possible floor concrete paving, polish terrazzo, and tiling which serve as a replacement for paste plastering, thus widening the scope of ornamentation. Inevitably, changes that were considered to be advancement at a time often become outdated later, hence yesterday's culture is today's heritage. The spaces and forms used for ornamentation in the prehistoric times were the foundation on which the present ornamentation is built, with modifications influenced by modernization. Landry (1977) is thus right in the assertion that cultural heritage often shows that mankind has come from somewhere and has a story to tell while providing people with confidence and security to face the future.