Yoruba peoples, Igbomina region, Nigeria
Late 19th to mid-20th century
Wood, paint, beads
64.5 x 32.5 x 30 cm (25 3/8 x 12 13/16 x 11 13/16 in.)
2005-6-173, gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company (cat. no. 11)
More/Less Information
Whether going to market or participating in a religious procession, people in most of Africa traditionally carry loads atop their heads. This depiction of a bowl carrier or arugba is from a shrine dedicated to the god Shango in the village of Oke Onigbin. Shango, the god of thunder, punishes wrongdoers and rewards the devout by giving them children. This woman is a devotee, humble before her god and waiting to bear the god's thunderbolts in the form of Neolithic stone axes.
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