Materials Object Type Origin People Grouping Dimensions

Yoruba Royalty

Nigeria

H:24 x W:24 x L:80 in.

Date

Late 19th Century

There is a Yoruba saying that “no one has ever seen the tomb of an oba;” the meaning of this reveals the belief among the Yoruba, that because kings and queens are the “stewards of the gods,” they will not die; instead, they simply descend “into the earth.”  Many Yoruba believe kings become Orisha or deity, the higher spiritual status when they leave this world, their physical remains, which contain an enormous amount of asé power, must be redirected through the earth and scattered to important sites for ritual purposes, most often to protect those they leave behind. This is a very important artifact of the museum collection that is incredibly rare, and highlights the impeccable care that is given to the royal dead, and the attention attributed to their passage to the next life. This is an underlying theme in belief rtual across Africa.