Ifá diviner's necklace (òdìgbà Ifá)

Description

The use of colorful glass beads adds luster to the divination session and underlines the high status diviners enjoy in Yorùbá society. Like kings, diviners derive their authority from the otherworld, òrún. A beaded necklace with two beaded pouches is an accessory carried by the itinerant Yorùbá diviner. Substances sewn into the miniature bags protect the diviner and ensure his power.

Provenance

(Pace Primitive, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1995); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1995–)

Ifá diviner's necklace (òdìgbà Ifá)

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1900s

Accession Number

1995.23

Medium

Cloth, glass beads, cardboard, cotton, probably wool, and wood

Dimensions

Overall: 49.5 cm (19 1/2 in.); Bag: 21.5 x 19.6 cm (8 7/16 x 7 11/16 in.)

Classification

Implements

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund