shrine; box/container of leather and white cowries, velvet and plainweave; conical structure w/ sides covered w/ white cowries separated by vertical bands of velvet in green, red or brown and red plainweave; knob covered w/ red plainweave at top sits on leather cover which is sewn down; w. base 5.5, ht. incl. knob ca 8.5 cm.
Donor:
Joan Wescott
Collection place:
Nigeria
Verbatim coll. place:
Africa; Nigeria; Yoruba
Culture or time period:
Yoruba
Collector:
Joan Wescott
Collection date:
unknown
Materials:
Cotton (textile) and Leather
Object type:
ethnography
Function:
5.1 Religion and Divination: Objects and garb associated with practices reflecting submission, devotion, obedience, and service to supernatural agencies
Accession date:
July 25, 1989
Context of use:
see 5-15300; Ori is a Yoruba Orisha cult. "The Yoruba word 'ori' may be translated as "head", as well as "prenatal destiny", depending on the context of use. Thus, when a devotee of an 'orisha' kneels before the shrine of the deity, he or she will touch the place of power on the emblem of the god with the offering or with the blood of the sacrifice and then touch his own forehead before placing the gift upon the shrine. The action links the power of the deity with the personal destiny of the worshipper. Ori is, therefore, viewed as one's personal deity, 'orisha'. One may sacrifice to one's own head, for it stands surety for the possibilities that one has chosen. Shrines for 'ori' are cowrie-covered, lidded baskets called 'the house, or altar, of the head', 'ile ori', in which one may place bits of kola-nut offerings or tokens of one's good destiny.