OSE SANGO DANCE WAND

This Ose Sango dance wand features large eyes, crested coiffure encrusted in purple pigment, a broken left limb, prominent breasts and slim torso mounted on top of a handle with a fiber rope tied to the base. It is smaller in size compared to similar statues used for rites by devotees of Sango, the Yoruba god of thunder.

Sango staffs are specifically housed in the altars of shrines guarded by Sango worshippers. The staff is only removed from the shrine during ceremonies by devotees. It is also symbolic of the prowess, charisma and charm of Sango as an Orisa (deity) in the Yoruba cosmos.

Sango is the Yoruba god of thunder and famously revered for his anger and wrath. The Yoruba people to date, use Sango as a metaphor for wrath and anger. Before his posthumous adoration as a deity, he was the fourth Alaafin (royal title of Kings) at Oyo-Ile (the old Oyo Empire).

This wand was made by the Ijesha, a subgroup of Yoruba people in Ekiti State, Nigeria.

Condition

Broken left arm, signs of damage on top of the figure, this could possibly be where the double axe head motif synonymous with Sango artifacts might have broken off.