Ritual staff "edan oshugbo" · Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3035262
sold
EUR 600
Provenance
German Private Collection, Hamburg, collected in situ (1959 - 1965)Size
H: 14,5 cm
H: 5.7 inch
Description
brass, dark patina, in shape of a squatting female figure with both hands up to the breasts, eyelet with a small bell attached, min. dam., slight traces of corrosion, socle;
“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.