Beyoncé’s Homage to Ala, the Igbo Earth Mother

In Beyoncé’s 2013 African-themed music video for “Grown Woman,” she expresses the role of an African Earth Mother. This depiction is a clear reference to archival images of Ala, the Igbo Earth Mother, as represented in Mbari votive shrines. The Mbari shrines, documented by William Fagg in 1946, celebrate Ala’s role as the goddess of fertility, morality, and creativity in Igbo cosmology. Beyoncé’s visual reference connects modern artistry with traditional African spirituality, paying homage to cultural roots and ancestral symbolism.

The written record

Historical context