THE LITTLE SCULPTURES OF KEMWIN-KEMWIN ARTISTS

Abstract

The tradition of apothecary in Benin may be as old as the need for medication itself and kemwin-kemwin sellers are those who trade in apothecary. Their relics include the skulls of dead animals, bones of alligator, bones of dogs, snakes or lizards, cowries, calabashes, clay pots of different sizes, little molded figures in clay or laterite, live chicks, live tortoise, pumpkin pods, cotton fabric of red, black and white colours, mirrors and many more odds and ends. This is a possible choice for the name kemwin-kemwin that could be translated to ‘bits and pieces’ or ‘this and that’. Many researchers have written on apothecary but not very few have focused on the craft of sculpture done by these kemwin-kemwin traders. Very soon the tradition of kemwin-kemwin may become moribund as most traders and artists, are affected by a possible decline in patronage. The study is aimed at popularizing and cataloguing kemwin-kemwin figurines as part of the collection of reliquaries by kemwin-kemwin market women practitioners. The researcher described their cultural significances, religious and decorative functions to the buyers and users of these figurines.