Artwork Page for Ifá diviner's necklace (òdìgbà Ifá)

Details / Information for Ifá diviner's necklace (òdìgbà Ifá)

Ifá diviner's necklace (òdìgbà Ifá)

1900s

Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker

Medium
Cloth, glass beads, cardboard, cotton, probably wool, and wood
Measurements
Overall: 49.5 cm (19 1/2 in.); Bag: 21.5 x 19.6 cm (8 7/16 x 7 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1995.23
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Look closely at the minuscule beads used to make the complex patterns of this multicolored necklace containing two pouches with thin strands that are connected by rope-like cords. A Yoruba diviner would have communicated with the spirit world while wearing this accessory.

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.
Two pouches like half-ovals with white, pinks, and browns in striped and triangular patterns made of miniscule beads. Strands of predominantly pink, blue, and white beads hang down around the pouches. Beaded strands extending from either side of the flat edge of each pouch connect the pouches into a loop. The beaded swathes alternate between white, green-brown, and deep blue colors separated by geometric patterned, beaded cylinders.

Ifá diviner's necklace (òdìgbà Ifá)

1900s

Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact Us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.