oshe Shango (dance wand)

oshe Shango (dance wand), late 1800s–1982

Where object was made: Nigeria

Material/technique: pigment; wood; carving

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 57.5 x 16 x 15.5 cm black base not included
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 22 5/8 x 6 5/16 x 6 1/8 in

Credit line: Gift of Larry W. Welling

Accession number: 2007.3129

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
"For Life's Sake: Arts from Africa," Oct-1983, Reinhild Kauenhoven Janzen
This figure of a woman represents a devotee of the Yoruba Thundergod, Shango, and is used in the god's cult. Shango's sign is the double axe which is said to be the thunderbolt hurled from the sky, a sign which represents Shango's vital force. Here the double motif is transformed into two faces, signifying the all-seeing power of the god. The woman who balances Shango's sign on her head touches her breasts in the familiar gesture of blessing. The wear on the surface of the figure and the wooden-peg repair suggest that it was used for some time in a ritual context before it was sold to a collector.