staff (general & multipurpose)

This is the top part of an Oshe dance staff. Such staffs are carried by followers of orisha Shango at the festivals held in his honour. The stone axes or ‘thunderbolts’ depicted on the staff are one of the emblems of orisha Shango, the Yoruba god of thunder.

This is the top part of an Oshe dance staff. Such staffs are carried by followers of orisha Shango at the festivals held in his honour. The stone axes or ‘thunderbolts’ depicted on the staff are one of the emblems of orisha Shango, the Yoruba god of thunder.

fighting

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk