Nyamwezi Diviner's Medicine Gourd Tanzania Rohner Collection

The Nyamwezi diviner's medicine gourds were used to contain medicinal contents used in divination and the community's healing rituals. The intricate carving of the container tops or stoppers elevated their significance. These gourds gained added potency as healing tools and were often adorned with string, feathers, and carved figures to represent the Nyamwezi ancestors. 

Provenance: John R. Rohner Collection
Rohner, a museum curator for decades, aimed his practiced eye for authenticity to African art beginning in the early 1908s. His passion for this art only grew through the decades he built his collection––always with an aim for a broad and representative array of pieces. The collection appears in his book, Art Treasures from African Runners (2000, University Press of Colorado). 

Item #705 on pg. 251

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