Cleveland Museum of Art

Ifá divination vessel (àgéré Ifá)

Date

mid- late 1800s

Medium

Wood and colorant

Culture

Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, possibly Èkìtì State, Yorùbá-style carver

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The mother figure of this vessel from the Southern Ekiti region represents a devotee who kneels before the gods. The vessel once held the 16 sacred palm nuts essential to divination rituals. The object was used by a priest as a medium through which to communicate with the god of fate, Orunmila, in order to gain insight into an individual’s destiny or to understand the cause of misfortune.

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