Stem of the Dracaena shrub ('okoro'), displayed as part of an Anang shrine. The stem has a small hole drilled in it.
In West Africa, this species is used widely for demarcating land boundaries and funerary sites. Its use as part of a funeral shrine not only serves to discourage access to the 'nwomo', but indicates transition to the spirit world.
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The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive.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.
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