Ifá diviner's necklace (òdìgbà Ifá)
Unknown Artist
1900s
Medium
Cloth, glass beads, cardboard, cotton, probably wool, and wood
Dimensions
h. 49.5 cm · bag: 21.5 × 19.6 cm
Classification
Implements
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Accession Number
1995.23
About this artwork
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.