Uli art, the pursuit of beauty

It is one of many artistic practices, and one my mother would tell us stories about. Its name comes from the trees whose fruit or pod is used to extract the painting medium.

Uli has a dynamism and beauty with deep connections to womanhood, spirit, community and nature. The images are abstract, geometric and pictorial. There are thousands of motifs and symbols, many inspired by natural forms. The medium is used to beautify as well as to transfer stories and communicate ways of being. The sharp colours, lines and curves have a joyful energy. The negative space, ohere, is a part of the story.

The pursuit of beauty

It is said that the Earth Goddess Ala / Ana blessed women with the ability to make art and create beauty. She also made women the mediators of moral conscience, so conflicts in Igbo culture are settled by women. Beauty is equal to morality — nma, for example, means both good and beautiful. Uli shows this literally: when an argument is resolved, the woman who resolved it paints lines down the other’s body.

The first uli artist in Igbo (Nimo) tradition was Asele. Her skill was such that she outclassed all other artists. Because of the interconnectedness of life on earth and life beyond, she also reached the land of the spirits, where she created art and emerged as the best artist of all time.

Uli is not seen as sacred; rather the aim is to beautify the person or building and achieve a pleasing aesthetic. Igbo people refer to visual art as ife nkili, meaning something to be looked at for pleasure. Artists often say icho mma, which means to search for beauty, to decorate. The Igbo idea of a good life is that it is not enough merely to exist — one must fulfil one’s potential and expectations.

Iru Mgbede is a rite of passage celebrating womanhood. The young woman is sequestered away for six months, during which she is pampered and fed the choicest foods. A fattened body is seen as harmonious with nature and strength. She also learns dances, decorates the walls of her quarters, and cares for her skin and body as well as for others. As part of the celebration her body is decorated with uli. The strokes are so relaxing they can lull the wearer to sleep.

The uli artist responds to the young woman’s body to create the design. Her focus is on enhancing her beauty, well-being, health and attractiveness. Joints, for example, are emphasised to show her strength. The wearer’s movements are said in turn to show the beauty of the uli.

Community

One of the wonderful things about uli is that it is a harmonious part of the Igbo way of life. It cannot be seen as a solitary art or object, but as part of a wider philosophy. It is used both in everyday life and on special occasions, including festivals, weddings, title-taking, funerals and women traders’ market days. Igbo women had their own title-taking society.

Mural painting is collaborative, with two to twenty women painting the walls of a building such as a celebrant’s home or a temple. To make the mural, the wall is separated into sections with bold lines or bands called uli nkpowa. Each painter has her own space to explore, play and create. Each woman brings her personal style — as the phrase goes, uli di n’aka n’aka, uli varies from hand to hand. There is a confidence the uli artist brings: she draws elegant and sure strokes without erasing. The shared palette of colours, motifs and symbols brings it together as a cohesive whole.

It is a wonderful community art filled with conversations, learning and laughter. Elderly women lead the group and are recognised for their talent and skill, while younger women bring energy and new ideas. Knowledge is passed between generations and is in constant evolution.

Conversations with nature

Every aspect of Igbo life is reflected in the motifs used. Uli shows respect and appreciation for nature. The ability to make uli comes from mother earth herself, Ala / Ana.

Animals frequently shown include the snake, tortoise, alligator, agama lizard, eagle, vulture and leopard. The motifs are aligned with the divinities and are symbols of human characteristics. Plants are popular too — cassava leaves, seed pods, yams, the flowers of fruit, and kola nut, which is a symbol of peace and hospitality. Other symbols include objects from everyday life, and human figures.

The tools are natural and sustainable. The painting medium comes from the trees uli ona or npko, also known as Rothmannia whitfieldii, which grows fifty feet high. Their seeds and pods are mashed to extract the juice. Uli nkilisi or uli nkpuru, also known as Cremaspora triflora, is a decent-sized plant with rusty leaves, stems and pods containing small seeds. Other trees used are uli ede eji and uli okorobiam.

Colour pigments are made by mixing the uli with another material: black by mixing it with charcoal, white with clay, red with the camwood tree, yellow with soil, and blue by mixing it with laundry detergent, which was introduced with colonial influence.

When painted on the body, ufie — camwood — is applied to the skin after shaving. It acts as a natural antiperspirant and body cream, and its absorbent quality stops the uli from spreading when applied. Its red colour symbolises womanhood to some Igbo groups, and life and blood to others.

On a body the motifs are drawn using a sliver of raffia, a feather, a thin pointed stick, a bristle from a local broom, or a small blunt knife or metal comb. The paint is held in a coconut shell or small bottle. Tools for painting walls include a stick, a rag derived from the rotten stalk of a banana tree, a feather, a pebble, and the uli knife, mma-nwuli.

Dynamism

Dynamism and multi-dimensionality are important to the Igbo way of life. Uli artists are concerned with conveying three states of reality: physical, spiritual and abstract. An Igbo proverb goes, “the people have three eyes. One is the eye with which the spirit is seen; the two remaining ones are used to see people and the material world.”

The art is designed to be temporary. Wall paintings wash off during the rainy season, and body painting lasts from eight days to several months. The washing away creates the space for renewal and is symbolic of growth. It is taboo for a shrine not to be renewed when a new season calls for celebration.

To me, uli is a form of documentation itself. It is an abstract and temporary documentation of the inspirations, stories and concerns of the community at that time.

References and further reading

• “Uli Painting and the Igbo World View” — Liz Willis, African Arts
• “Eziafo Okaro: An uli woman painter’s tale in the Igbo heritage crisis” — Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi
• “Uli: Metamorphosis of a tradition into contemporary aesthetics” — Sandra A. Smith
• The Poetics of Line: Seven Artists of the Nsukka Group — The Uli Aesthetic
• “People Have Three Eyes: Ephemeral Art and the Archive in Southeastern Nigeria” — Sarah Adams
• Ukpuru — historical images of the Igbo, their neighbours and beyond
• African Canvas — Margaret Courtney-Clarke
• The Legendary Uli Women of Nigeria — Robin Renee Sanders
• Igbo Art in Social Context — Herbert M. Cole
• Pitt Rivers virtual collection — uli materials and tools

The original post includes photographs by Liz Willis, Margaret Courtney-Clarke, Fred T. Smith and others, which are not reproduced here. Read it on the alache blog.