"Ifa" oracle head with beard · Nigéria, Yoruba · ID: 3041324
Poul Mørk, Copenhagen, Denmark. Curator of the African Collections Departement at the National Museum of Denmark
Description
ivory, slightly stained brown patina, elaborately decorated headdress with jagged contour, filed incisors, neck carved with fine rings, eyes and dotted ornaments with inlay from black material, good condition;
in addition to the sixteen palm nuts that the “ifa” priest throws from one hand to the other when divining, many “babalawo” have a seventeenth nut, known as “olori ikin” (“chief of the palm nuts”). Sometimes the seventeenth nut is replaced by a small ivory human head, probably for reasons of prestige. This is usually said to represent “eshu”, but its rather a reference to “orunmila” himself, the deity that governs the “ifa” oracle.
Littérature comparée
Witte, Hans, A Closer Look, Berg en Dal 2004, p. 242
Remarques
This object is subject to CITES. Please note that it can only be sent within the European Union. At the present time export in third countries is prohibited, respectively, export licenses in third countries for objects containing or made of protected materials are only granted under stringent conditions.