Dance staff "oshe shango"

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Description

wood, blackish brown patina, encrusted with earthy pigment, the double axe symbol carved with big eyes, the shaft with nose and mouth, abrasion of paint, fine cracks, base;
“shango” staffs are held during processions and dances in honour of the thunder god. When not in use they are kept in large wooden or calabash bowls in the deity’s shrines, together with the thunderstones “shango” supposedly flings down from the sky.

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Comparing literature

Witte, Hans, A Closer Look, Berg en Dal 2004, p. 26

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