Zacheus Olowonubi Oloruntoba

Chief Zacheus Olowonubi Oloruntoba (O-láuren-tóba) was born ???????7/22/1919???????? in Ogidi, Nigeria and began painting at 15 years old to explain the powerful, lucid dreams he had had since age 12. In Yoruba tradition, as with many cultures worldwide, dreams have particular significance as a means for the dead to communicate with the living and advise them through their daily lives. Young Zacheus' dreams were so well-known, he became a spiritual mentor and healer in his village. Chief Oloruntoba credits his mother with teaching him how to use his magical gift of dreams and his grandmother with showing him how to paint.It was not until 1948 that Chief Oloruntoba began working with hand-dyed cords. He would be unknown as an artist for years to come, focusing instead on becoming an herbal doctor and chief. His art, though a very useful tool, was only one small part of his healing practice.Before he'd reached his teens, young Zacheus had become known throughout Africa for his powerful, lucid, and seemingly clairvoyant dreams. Many of those dreams were recorded and published by the University of California Press as King Marapaka's Dream. The book presents an evocative tale of a young man's apprenticeship in the healing arts and his eventual mastery of magical powers. Today, Chief Oloruntoba continues to work his magic in paintings that sweep the viewer into a phantasmagoric realm of color, vitality, and mystery.