Beaded bag "apo ileke" of an "ifa" priest
Description
leather, cardboard, fabric, coloured miniature glass beads, stone beads,
This bag is lavishly decorated with hundreds of tiny glass beads. The central motif is a mask face, probably representing “eshu”.
The diviners “babalawo” (“fathers of secrets”) have to expand their knowledge throughout their lives. As part of their job, they are expected to travel a lot.
On their travels they carry their divination equipment with them. This includes “ikin ifa” (palm nuts) or an “opele ifa” (divining chain), an “opon ifa” (tray), an “iroke ifa” (tapper), a small ivory head symbolic of “eshu-elegba” and a variety of objects (shells, stones, bone, etc.) signifying predictions.
The beaded bags are so much the mark of diviners that they are known as “akapo” - carriers of the bag.