TERA Gallery - African Art and Antiquities

"Altering The Way You View The World Of Art"
Type of Object:     
    Adenia Crown

    The right to wear crowns is limited to approximately fifty
    Yoruba kings.

    Theoretically, only direct descendents of one of the sixteen
    children of the god ORISHA, first king of the Yoruba people,
    can wear them. ORISHA blessed mankind with the use of
    beads, and their use is restricted to those whose spiritual
    powers enable them to move across the boundary that
    separates men from gods, the secular from the sacred.

    The crown itself is worshipped. It is placed upon the king's
    head from behind, usually by the senior wife, because he
    may not look upon the bird, which goes on the top, which
    holds powerful medicines to protect him and his destiny.  
    The veil is to keep viewers from seeing the king's face,
    masking his individuality, and also focusing attention on the
    real focus of power, the crown. The birds on the side
    symbolize the fact that the king rules "only with the support of
    the mothers." Crowns limited to those who could trace their
    heritage to ODUDUA, first king of Yoruba (at Ife).

    Crowns are called orisha (diety) and are the object of care
    and veneration by a woman at court. The veil focuses the
    viewer's attention to the crown and to venerate the king's
    head. Orisha is the generic name for a diety and not a king.
    It was either of the orishas Olokun (god of the sea) or
    Obalufon that gave humans the gift of beads. Bead usage
    limited to kings, priests and priestesses and certain diviners.

Ethnic Group:    
    Yoruba Society         

Country of Origin:          

Material:                      
    Beads

Deminsions:


Reference:                  
    See Fagg's YORUBA BEADWORK