Exhibit:

Introduction | Ancient sky-watchers | Celestial deities in the time of the pharaohs | Cosmic connectors | The sun at which one cannot stare | Without the moon, there would be no life | Lunar enlightenment | Cosmic models | Celestial guidance | A universe of possibilities | | Sons of the Moon DVD

In Yoruba traditions, the universe is seen as a lidded vessel, usually a gourd or a spherical wooden bowl.

The top half denotes the sky or heaven, which is the spirit world and the domain of the supreme creator Olódùmarè. The bottom half represents the physical world. It is the domain of the earth goddess Ilè and is inhabited by deities humans, and other creatures.

Humans reach out to the divine through rituals and offerings dedicated to lesser gods and spirits. Like the lidded bowl, the divination tray serves as a model of the Yoruba world. Its recessed center marks an intersection of heaven and earth, and its elaborately carved border filled with images refers to aspects of Yoruba history, myth, and daily life.

Yoruba priest Kolawole Ositola begins the rite of divination by marking a crossroads pattern in the powdered surface of the divination board. He uses an ivory tapper to invoke the presence of ancient Ifa priests.

Porogun Quarter, Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria, 1992
Photograph by John Pemberton III

Bowl with lid
Areogun of Osi-Ilorin
Yoruba peoples, Nigeria
Late 19th to mid-20th century
Wood, pigment, iron
National Museum of African Art, gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, 2005-6-68

Containing the world. Yoruba traditions conceive of the cosmos as a lidded vessel, usually a gourd or a wooden bowl. Its two sections define the interconnected worlds of the living and the ancestors and spirits. The iron spike piercing the top of this lid creates an axis mundi between the complementary domains of sacred and secular in the Yoruba worldview.

Areogun, a prolific Yoruba master artist who carved doors, house posts, masks, and lidded bowls, made this vessel. Several of the low-relief figures and attributes on this bowl suggest an association with Shango, god of thunder. Other images recall Eshu, the divine messenger and trickster, and Ogun, god of iron.

Staff (osé Sàngó)
Yoruba peoples, Nigeria
Mid-20th century
Wood, glass beads, pigment
National Museum of African Art, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Albert E. Henn, 71-31-2

When inspiration strikes. In ceremonies honoring Shango (Sàngó), the Yoruba god of thunder and lightning, devotees dance with wooden staffs symbolizing double-bladed axes. The fiery-tempered deity was said to throw Neolithic stone blades to earth as thunderbolts during storms.

When carved by a master artist, Shango's axe may be rendered as a projecting coiffure or as the faceted elements of a staff with multiple heads. Dance staffs dedicated to Shango occasionally include representations of the rainbow serpent, a powerful spiritual force and a symbol of fertility, perpetuity, and prosperity.

Tunic
Possibly Baba Adesina family workshop
Yoruba peoples, Nigeria
Early 20th century
Cotton, glass beads
National Museum of African Art, museum purchase, 2003-8-1

Beaded thunderbolts. Priests dedicated to Shango (Sàngó), the Yoruba god of thunder, wear beaded tunics during ceremonial occasions. Zigzag and triangular patterns resemble the jagged path of lightning across the sky as a celestial manifestation of Shango, or they refer to the Gabon viper, an emblem of power. The beaded faces, two on each side, suggest a confrontation with divine authority. On special occasions the Yoruba king of Okuku wears this type of tunic as part of his regalia.

Equestrian shrine figure
Bamgboye of Odo-Owa
Yoruba peoples, Nigeria
Early to mid-20th century
Wood, pigment
Yale University Art Gallery, Charles B. Benenson, B.A. 1933, collection, 2006.51.86

Dedicated to the whirlwind. This beautifully carved equestrian figure would have been placed on a shrine dedicated to Oya, the Yoruba tornado or whirlwind deity and the wife of Shango, the popular, fiery-tempered thunder god. Numerous sculptures are dedicated to Shango due to his association with prosperity and the promise of children, but few are devoted to his wife Oya.

Exhibit:

Introduction | Ancient sky-watchers | Celestial deities in the time of the pharaohs | Cosmic connectors | The sun at which one cannot stare | Without the moon, there would be no life | Lunar enlightenment | Cosmic models | Celestial guidance | A universe of possibilities |