Shango dance wand
Made by Duga (ca. 1880-1960), 1950.
Nigeria, Meko; Yoruba
Collected by William R. Bascom, 1950, acc. 1985.
5-10873
This staff is one of the best-documented objects in the collection. Bascom commissioned it because he could not buy one from the head priest in Meko. Directed to its maker, he took the opportunity to interview, photograph, and film him as he worked. At Bascom's request, Duga used only traditional paints. Although every worshipper of Shango, the thunder god, owns a wand for his personal shrine, it is carried only by the cult group member who becomes possessed with Shango's spirit. The central figure represents such a devotee, carrying a Shango staff in his right hand. At his left is a female worshipper of Oya, the Goddess of the River Niger and Shango's most loyal wife; and on his right is a man beating Shango's drum. At the top left is a ram, Shango's favorite sacrificial animal, and at the right, the dog that is sacred to him.
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