CLAY AND SPIRIT: ANIMIST VALUES IN TANGIBLE POTTERY ARTWORKS OF BENIN CITY

Abstract

This paper examines the animist values embodied in pottery artworks of Benin City, Nigeria. Pottery, as both a functional and symbolic art form, has historically mediated spiritual beliefs, ritual practices, and communal identity in Benin. Drawing from ethnographic field observations, oral accounts, and secondary literature, this study examines the relationship between clay as material and spirit as meaning. This paper portrays that beyond utility, pottery vessels retain animist qualities expressed in their ritual uses, symbolic forms, and cultural narratives. However, the continuity of these traditions is increasingly challenged by modernization, industrial substitutes, and declining apprenticeship systems. The paper concludes by emphasizing pottery’s role as both a tangible craft and intangible cultural heritage, calling for renewed academic and policy attention to its preservation.