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This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

Small sword. The curved blade is decorated with six cutout lines and an X design with a dot in each angle. Two rows of small hammered curved lines outline the edge of the blade and around each cutout. The handle depicts a seated female with hands on knees. She wears a tall pointed headdress with two smaller ear-like points extending out. She has small pointed breasts, a large protruding naval, wears a large necklace with triangular pendant, and has a band around her waist, which repeats down the handle three more times. Her cheeks are marked with lines representing scarification(?).

History Of Use

These swords, with their distinctive J-shaped blades and anthropomorphic hilts, were usually ceremonial, used in spiritual practices or as a symbol of social status. This sword potentially belonged to a member of the Ogboni Society. The Ogboni Society is a fraternal institution in Yoruba-speaking communities in Nigeria. Members of this organization have historically had significant political influence and served in judicial courts. If this sword belonged to a member of the Ogboni Society, it could have possessed additional ceremonial significance due to the social status of its bearer.

Narrative

Assumed to have been collected by Lieber while he was living in Nigeria (1965-1970), lecturing at the University of Ibadan under the auspices of CIDA.

Iconographic Meaning

The lines on the female figure's face potentially represent Yoruba ritual scarification. The shape of the blade is also associated with the spirit Ogun in Yoruba tradition, a spiritual figure associated with metalworking.

Item History

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