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Social Sharing
Ceremonial fan for Oshun
early 20th Century
In Yoruba culture, people who worship a specific god or deity might wear beads or special clothes to show their devotion. For example, this fan is for Oshun, a goddess in Yoruba religion who oversees fertility, love, and water. She is the patroness of the Oṣun River and is celebrated every year at the Oṣun-Oṣogbo Festival. Colorful glass beads on the fan symbolize preciousness, good luck, and a bright financial and spiritual future. Due to the transatlantic slave trade and spread of Yoruba culture, Oshun is also important outside Africa, known as Oxum in Brazil and Ochún in Cuba.
- Culture
- Yoruba
- Title
- Ceremonial fan for Oshun
- Date
- early 20th Century
- Place of Creation
- Nigeria
- Object Type
- Personal Accessory
- Medium
- Cloth, beads, and cowrie shells
- Dimensions
- 22 1/4 x 14 1/2 in., (56.5 x 36.8 cm,)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Anne Mero Adelmann
- Accession Number
- 1991.84