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Source Description
The use of colorful glass beads adds luster to the divination session and underlines the high status diviners enjoy in Yorùbá society. Like kings, diviners derive their authority from the otherworld, òrún. A beaded necklace with two beaded pouches is an accessory carried by the itinerant Yorùbá diviner. Substances sewn into the miniature bags protect the diviner and ensure his power.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159023
label
Ifá diviner's necklace (òdìgbà Ifá)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159023
contentType
object
title
Ifá diviner's necklace (òdìgbà Ifá)
description
The use of colorful glass beads adds luster to the divination session and underlines the high status diviners enjoy in Yorùbá society. Like kings, diviners derive their authority from the otherworld, òrún. A beaded necklace with two beaded pouches is an accessory carried by the itinerant Yorùbá diviner. Substances sewn into the miniature bags protect the diviner and ensure his power.
date
1900s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60748556
genreSpecific
Tools and Equipment
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 49.5 cm (19 1/2 in.); Bag: 21.5 x 19.6 cm (8 7/16 x 7 11/16 in.)
cul
Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker
accession
1995.23
Source extras
tec
Cloth, glass beads, cardboard, cotton, probably wool, and wood
tombstone
Ifá diviner's necklace (òdìgbà Ifá), 1900s. Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker. Cloth, glass beads, cardboard, cotton, probably wool, and wood; overall: 49.5 cm (19 1/2 in.); bag: 21.5 x 19.6 cm (8 7/16 x 7 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund, 1995.23
collection
African Art
formerAccessionNumbers
1995.23.a
1995.23.b
didYouKnow
Look closely at the minuscule beads used to make the complex patterns of this multicolored necklace containing two pouches with thin strands that are connected by rope-like cords. A Yoruba diviner would have communicated with the spirit world while wearing this accessory.
citations
citation
Young-Sanchez, Margaret. "The Cleveland Museum of Art." African Arts 30, no.1 (1997): 66-71, p. 70
citation
Petridis, Constantijn. <em>South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. </em>Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003.
page_number
Reproduced: cat. 23, p. 76 - 77
creditline
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:13:52.429000
sourceId
159023
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Cloth, glass beads, cardboard, cotton, probably wool, and wood
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
9d495d5d50638dcd