Alusi Masculino

An important figure in culture Igbo are the “Alusi” or geniuses of nature, responsible for disease and death, and charged with punishing perjury. They are given family altars and in the villages to make them favorable to men. These altars are adorned with wooden statues called “Ikenga”, protective guardians of families and their homes. Only parents can own Ikengas. The Ikenga are sons of the Alusi and therefore share supernatural powers. At the death of the head of the family, his Ikenga must be destroyed. A cult is offered to the Ikenga to extol the power and vital force in man's right hand. It carries pectoral and facial scarifications and ringed legs and arms.