Old Shango Figure Sceptor Nigeria

This mid-20th century Shango wood sculpture features a figure kneeling and holding a scepter. Blue pigment is embedded in the crevices which indicates that this figure could have been part of spiritual ceremonies.

The cult of Shango, three centuries old, worships Shango who was once a human King, but became an orisha, a God. The carved devotees are female, but the orisha is male and associated with thunder and lightning. A person may inherit the worship of Shango from parents, or be "called" individually. The figure carries the double axe on his head. This joined stone tool symbolizes Shango's lightning and his dualities as creator and destroyer and recalls the Shango symbol associated with thunder and lightning.

This confirms that this object was used as a dance wand carried by devotees of the Shango, the Yoruba thunder god."Shango is a complex deity who creates and destroys, who through his powers causes lightning and flash and thunder to crash. The dance wand was carried at the annual festival. The staff will be danced with a dramatic mime of lightning striking the ground portraying the potential of the power of the thunder god Shango"

Shango is a powerful Orisha (spiritual deity) in the Yoruba religion of West Africa. He is associated with thunder, lightning, fire, and dance. Shango is also considered a symbol of justice, strength, and virility.

In Yoruba art, Shango is often depicted as a tall, muscular man with a double axe (oshe) in his right hand and a thunderbolt (edun ara) in his left hand. He is usually dressed in red and white clothing and adorned with cowrie shells and beads.

Shango is also an important figure in Afro-Caribbean religions such as Santeria, Candomble, and Vodou, where he is often syncretized with Catholic saints such as Saint Barbara or Saint Jerome.

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