Pair of "eshu" dance wands · Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3045119
sold
EUR 500
Size
L: 31 / 32 cm
L: 23 cm (shell strings)
L: 31 / 12.6 inch
L: 9.1 inch (shell strings)
Description
wood, leather, cowry shells, miniature glass beads,
These figures are worn round the neck of female worshippers of “eshu” (the “trickster” god) so that they hang upside down over the breasts of the devotee and are more or less hidden among the strands of cowries.
The fact that “eshu hides behind cowries”, as the Yoruba say, indicates that the trickster is present in all money transactions, especially on the market, where strangers come into contact with each other and quarrels may easily arise.
Comparing literature
Witte, Hans, Ifa and Esu, Soest-Holland 1984, p. 109