Pair of ritual staffs "edan oshugbo"

Description

brass, iron, kneeling figures, male/female, holding items, mounted on iron poker, collection number “10” in red paint on the back, min. dam., minor missing parts, slight traces of corrosion, on wooden base;
“ogboni” is a secret society of the Yoruba, also called “oshugbo”. The best known “oshugbo” object is the “edan oshugbo”, a pair of bronze images male/female mounted on iron spikes, linked by an iron chain. These figures belong to individual “oshugbo” members who - after approval by an “oshugbo” official - the “apena” - take them home afer their initiation into the “oshugbo” cult. They are kept on the family shrine and they are danced on special occasions.

Comparing literature