Zemanek-Münster

Prayer board

Chad
sold EUR 300
Provenance
collected in situ (1960’s)
Size
H: 69 cm
B: 29,5 cm
H: 27.2 inch
B: 11.6 inch

Description

light brown wood, front and backside inscribed with coran sayings in black paint, older inscriptions which were removed by washing recognizable, sickle-shaped handle wrapped with leather, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion;
such tablets were variously used within subsaharian Africa, including northern Nigeria, for example by young boys for learning how to write. Religious specialists wrote coran sayings on the tablest, which were removed by washing lateron and the liquid was given to the clients for drinking, which should prevent him of any harm.


Comparing literature

Ginzberg, Marc, Afrikanische Formen, Mailand 2001, p. 282 f.

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