Ritual staff for Shango, oshe shango. Yoruba, Nigeria. H 41cm, carved with an adorant with a high, tapered hairstyle, arranged in knots and crowned by the double axe symbol; she is adorned around the neck with numerous carved and one real necklace and holds a lidded vessel in her hands. Depicted in: K.-F. Schädler, African Art in German Collections (1973) p. 166, fig. 222; ders. Afrikanische Kunst / African Art (1975) p.117, fig.164. These dancing sticks oshe were carried in honor of the thunder god Shango by male and female members of the cult during the shango festival in the processions. The main feature is the double axe, originally probably hand axes, which were found and hurled from the sky by Shango. In a good sense, Shango is associated with fertility-giving rain, he is considered truthful and is said to punish lies and theft. Minor abrasions from prolonged use, otherwise intact; gray, partially encrusted sacrificial patina. Provenance: ex Coll. Walter Kaiser, Stuttgart; ex Coll. Walter Schmidt, Würzburg/Innsbruck; ex Zemanek-Münster, Auction 86, Würzburg 27 May 2017, lot 41.