Costume skirt made of long, plain strips of raffia hanging from a thin cotton waistband.

• Cultural Context

  religious; ceremonial

• Narrative

  This item is part of a set acquired from the O Mundo dos Orixás shop, Madureira Market, in Rio de Janeiro.

• History Of Use

  The azé is the lower part of the costume of Omulu Obaluayê (including 3041/1 and 3041/3). Made of raffia from the piassava palm (Raphia vinifera), the azé covers the xokotô: short cotton pants that extend below the knees. The costume depicts Omulu Obaluaiê, “King and Lord of the Earth,” one of the core orixá of the Afro-Brazilian religions of Candomblé and Umbanda. Omulu is son of Nanã and Oxalá, Iemanjá’s husband, whom Nanã seduced. Abandoned by his mother, Omulu was saved by Iemanjá and healed by his father, Oxalá. He became a wanderer: an earthly entity connected, as a healer, to death and disease.

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• Type of Item skirt
• Culture Brazilian
• Material palm leaf, cotton fibre
• Measurements height 74.0 cm, width 84.0 cm, depth 3.5 cm (overall)

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• Field Collector Nuno Porto
• Previous Owner Mundo dos Orixas
• Received from Mundo dos Orixas, Museum of Anthropology Acquisitions Budget

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• Made in Rio de Janeiro

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• Creation Date during 2013
• Collection Date during November 2013
• Ownership Date before November 22, 2013
• Acquisition Date on November 22, 2013

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• Item Classes textiles
• Condition good
• Accession Number 3041/0002