Staff or dance wand. Wooden carving depicting a male figure standing next to a sacrificial ram. The figure holds a double axe in his right hand. His elongated head sits at an angle on his short neck. He has large almond eyes, and six horizontal lines on each cheek. Extending up from his head is a large ornate double axe-shaped headdress that curves down to points on each side. The figures stand on a square platform with carved diagonal lines around the sides and a plain cylindrical handle beneath.

• Narrative

  Assumed to have been collected by Lieber while he was living in Nigeria (1965-1970), lecturing at the University of Ibadan under the auspices of CIDA.

• History Of Use

  Shango staff. A dual personality known as a dancer and the energy of thunder, Shango originally took the form of a despotic human general. He is also known as the divinity of thunder and lightning; identifiable by his axe. Shango is historically a royal ancestor of the Yoruba and was the third king of the Oyo Kingdom before his posthumous deification. This orixá is the centre piece of the Lukumí religion of the Caribbean and is called Olokun mi ("my dear one"), as he represents the Oyo people of west Africa, the symbolic ancestors of all adherents of the faith.

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• Type of Item staff
• Culture Yoruba
• Material wood, stain, paint
• Measurements height 44.0 cm, width 15.5 cm, depth 8.8 cm (overall)

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• Previous Owner Jack Lieber, Iris Lieber
• Received from Iris Lieber

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• Made in Nigeria

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• Collection Date between 1965 and 1970
• Ownership Date before 2015, before June 18, 2018
• Acquisition Date on June 18, 2018

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• Condition good
• Accession Number 3326/0020