In Yoruba culture, colorful beads are medicines that act upon worldly and otherworldly forces. Their use is generally reserved for those who mediate forces in the Yoruba cosmos, such as royalty, priests, and priestesses, and for the embellishment of ritual and ceremonial objects. Beads mark an individual’s and object’s special position, as the riches associated with them signify good fortune and living purposefully with sacred support. Dance panels are associated with a number of deities, and beaded panels such as this one embellish the dance gestures of the devout as they celebrate the spiritual forces in their lives.