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Ceremonial

Artifacts integral to rituals, rites of passage, celebrations, or communal gatherings.

The Mossi peoples of Burkina Faso are renowned for their dynamic sculptural traditions and the complex integration of spiritual power into art forms. This baga (diviner) headdress, associated with a Mossi baga, exemplifies the convergence of material richness and beauty, ritual symbolism, and social function. The baga headdress exudes craftmanship, aesthetic beauty, and commands respect and importance in its context. Cowrie shells, fiber tassels, and braided strands adorn the headdress projecting both visual splendor and spiritual potency. Further increasing the headdress' spiritual prowess, it was handed down from previous generations. Baga headdresses are expertly made and are durable so they can be passed down to other ancestors or successors.

The dense covering of cowrie shells serves as more than decorative embellishment. In West African spiritual and economic systems, cowrie shells historically functioned as a medium of exchange, but more significantly, they act as conduits of divinatory power and protective forces (Berns, 1989). Their gleaming white surfaces are also associated with purity, water, and fertility, showing the diversity in usage and meaning of cowrie shells (Drewal & Schildkrout, 2009). For diviners, the cowrie’s association with a myriad of significant spiritual symbolisms and material culture links the physical and spiritual realms, amplifying the authority and strength of the baga during divination ceremonies.

The elongated vertical crest and trailing tassels morph the headdress into a dynamic form, emphasizing movement and presence in performance contexts. Such visual expression communicates a diviner’s ability to mediate between earthly and spiritual domains, channeling messages from ancestral spirits and deities (Roy, 1987). Art in Africa is general dynamic and kinetic. The movement of the headdress and regalia, along with the noises of the shells, the iron gongs, and other musical instruments, aids in communicating for divinatory practices and enhances the effectiveness.

In Mossi tradition, diviners occupy a vital position as interpreters of misfortune, illness, and conflict. Their regalia not only mark their social distinction, it also embodies the spiritual efficacy and fortitude required for their work. The baga headdress thus operates as both a material signifier of sacred authority and status, and an active participant in ritual performance.

Through its astonishing craftsmanship regarding aesthetics and geometric order, organic movement, and significant symbolism, the Mossi baga headdress highlights the profound interconnectedness of art, economy, social elements, and spirituality within Mossi life in Burkina Faso traditional people groups. Within the context of Sacred Currents: Spirituality in African Art, it testifies to the enduring power of material culture as a vessel of sacred knowledge, social continuity, and method of communication for

References

• Berns, M. C. (1989). The Art of Power/The Power of Art: Studies in Benin Iconography. Museum for African Art.

• Drewal, H. J., & Schildkrout, E. (2009). Sacred Waters: Arts for Mami Wata and Other Divinities in Africa and the Diaspora. Indiana University Press.

• Roy, C. D. (1987). Art of the Upper Volta Rivers. Alain & Françoise Chaffin.

• Roy, C. D. Speaking With God: A Mossi Diviner

Mossi Baga Headdress
Burkina Faso
Late 19th–Early 20th Century
Cowrie shells, Leather, Fiber, Cloth
Collection of Daniel Jones; Acquired from Norma Canelas-Roth; Previously Owned and Acquired by Jacques Hautelet in Burkina Faso in the 1950s

Zulu Isikoti
South Africa
Mid 20th Century
Fabric, Beads, Fiber
Collection of Daniel Jones; Acquired from Auction; Previously in a Private NY Collection

The isikoti (wedding cape), is a central garment in Zulu marital attire, worn by brides during the transition from maidenhood to married womanhood. Isikoti such as this one demonstrate the sophisticated integration of beadwork, cloth, and symbolic design that defines Zulu ceremonial dress. Isikoti are constructed from richly colored cotton panels, and the cotton panels are overlaid with intricate and sophisticated beaded embroidery, arranged in patterns that create a sense of layered depth, symbolism, and rhythm for ceremonies. The usage of geometric motifs, most notably diamonds, triangles, and chevrons, are not simply for decorative purposes but to carry coded messages of identity, lineage, and social standing within Zulu society (Jolles & Jolles, 2004).

The beaded looped pendant strands draping from the central oval emphasize the garment’s performative quality. When worn, these pendants would sway with the bride’s movement, animating the surface and transforming the cape into kinetic art. The visual richness and symbolism of the isikoti highlight its role in marking the solemnity and joy of the marriage rite. Such beadwork often communicates emotional states, relational bonds, and spiritual invocations, functioning as both personal adornment and as social elements (Beck, 2000).

In Zulu cosmology, marriage ceremonies represent not only the union of two individuals but also the joining of two families and ancestral lines. The isikoti's elaborate craftsmanship situates the bride within the continuity of tradition while helping to create her new spiritual and social identity as a married woman. Zulu Isikoti highlights how dress functions simultaneously as art, interpretive text, and ritual object, embodying the deep interconnections between spirituality, aesthetics, and social life in Zulu culture.

References

• Beck, R. B. (2000). African Ceremonies: The Rituals and Traditions of Africa. New York: Harry N. Abrams.

• Jolles, F., & Jolles, S. (2004). Zulu Ritual Art: Symbols, Customs, and History. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press.

• Kloppers, P. (2017). Beadwork, Art and the Body in Africa. Pretoria: University of South Africa Press.

This finely beaded Yoruba apo Ifa (divination bag), served as an essential object within the practices of Ifa divination. Apo Ifa were used to hold the ikin Ifa (sacred palm nuts) and other implements employed by the babalawo (priest or diviner) in the complex process of communicating with Orunmila, the deity of wisdom, destiny, and divination. These sacred palm nuts are extremely significant in Yoruba culture and are believed to typically have eye-like patterns, which strengthen the divination process, helping to better see and analyze results. Beyond the practical role of the apo Ifa, the bag also functioned as a statement of ritual authority, status, and aesthetic refinement within Yoruba religious culture where beads are paramount to material culture and way of life.

The elaborate beadwork on the apo Ifa reflects Yoruba mastery of glass bead embroidery, a medium closely associated with royal and sacred arts. The central motif, framed by radiating geometric patterns, likely references cosmological themes: the balance between earthly and spiritual realms, the organizing power of Orunmila, and the priest’s mediating role between humans and the divine. The star-like and diamond patterns across the necklace are protective and metaphysical symbolism, while the colorful palette signifies vitality, sacred energy, and divine presence. The face on the apo Ifa is an effigy of Eshu, also known as the deity of the spiritual crossroads, a messenger and communicator, master of all languages, and is an integral part of the Yoruba cosmos.

The materials: leather backing, cotton lining, and brightly colored beads, illustrate the interconnectedness of Yoruba artistic production. Despite signs of wear, the bag retains much of its visual brilliance, attesting to its continued use and the reverence accorded to it. Within Yoruba traditional beliefs, the apo Ifa is more than a container: it is a vessel of sacred power, embodying the authority of the babalawo and the enduring wisdom of Orunmila. This apo Ifa highlights the ways in which material artistry, spiritual belief, and social identity converge in African religious traditions.

References

• Abiodun, Rowland. Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

• Drewal, Henry John, and Margaret Thompson Drewal. Gelede: Art and Female Power among the Yoruba. Indiana University Press, 1983.

• Bascom, William. Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa. Indiana University Press, 1991.

Yoruba Apo Ifa
Nigeria
Late 19th–early 20th century
Fabric, Leather, Beads
Collection of Daniel Jones; Acquired from a Private Collection in France

This finely beaded necklace, known as an odigba Ifa (necklace), is a ritual object used within the sophisticated Yoruba divination system of Ifa. The odigba Ifa serves both a symbolic and functional role within Ifa practice, embodying cosmological concepts while also marking the authority of the babalawo (priest or diviner).

The necklace is composed of multiple strands of glass beads in various arrangements and is interspersed with large spherical beads and culminates in two triangular pendants elaborately embroidered with geometric beadwork. Each pendant displays distinct motifs: one side with concentric spirals of blue beads suggesting cosmological wholeness, and the other with diamond-shaped patterns referencing balance, multiplicity, and the ordering of the supernatural realm. The color symbolism is significant within Yoruba aesthetics: white connotes purity and connection to the orisha Orunmila, red denotes vitality and power, while blue and yellow evoke spiritual depth and prosperity (Drewal and Drewal, 1983; Lawal, 2001).

As an emblem of Ifa, the odigba is not merely decorative but encodes sacred knowledge. The pendants are sometimes described as “faces” of the oracle, protecting and channeling the aṣẹ (vital force) of Orunmila, the deity of wisdom and divination. During consultations, the necklace may be worn by the diviner or placed upon the opon Ifa (divination tray) to sanctify the ritual process and affirm the babalawo’s spiritual authority (Bascom, 1969). Objects such as this demonstrate the Yoruba philosophy that art is inseparable from ritual and moral order. The shimmering surfaces of the beads are rather luxurious materials historically obtained through long distance trade that amplified the objects prominence.

References

• Bascom, William. Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969.

• Drewal, Henry J., and Margaret T. Drewal. Gelede: Art and Female Power among the Yoruba. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1983.

• Lawal, Babatunde. “Àṣẹ: Verbalizing and Visualizing Creative Power through Art.” Journal of Religion in Africa 32, no. 1 (2001): 32–60.

Yoruba Odigba Ifa
Nigeria
Early 20th Century
Beads, Fiber, Fabric
Collection of Daniel Jones; Acquired from Auction; Previously the Collection of Ursula Voorhuis

Dan Headdress
Ivory Coast
Early 20th Century
Fabric, Cowrie Shells, Beads, Fiber, Animal hair, Hide
Collection of Daniel Jones; Acquired from Norma Canelas-Roth; Previously Owned and Acquired by Jacques Hautelet in Ivory Coast in the 1950s

This headdress from the Dan peoples of Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia embodies the dynamic interplay between aesthetics, spirituality, and social identity in African art. Dan headdresses are integral to masquerade traditions, prominent to the Dan peoples, which serve not only as theatrical performances but also as vital vehicles of spiritual mediation, moral instruction, and communal regulation (Fischer & Himmelheber, 1984; Vandenhoute, 1948). This headdress combines organic and ordinary materials: cowrie shells, beads, animal hair, and dyed cloth, all arranged to create both visual richness and symbolic resonance. Cowrie shells are historically used as currency in West Africa, and they signify wealth and spiritual protection, while the red textile evokes vitality, power, and life force (Bargna, 2000). The addition of animal hair suggests to be amplifying the conduit between the physical and ancestral worlds, reinforcing the headdress’s role as a spiritual channel and commonly seen in African art.

Headdresses of this type were typically worn on the head and attached to wooden masks during initiation rituals and public ceremonies, where they enhanced the mask’s authority and transformed the masquerader into a liminal being who bridged human and supernatural realms (Fischer, 1963). The elaborate ornamentation elevates the mask’s presence, signaling its sacred potency and underscoring the importance of the performance in maintaining cosmic and social order. The vertical form of this headdress, capped with bead and cowrie embellishments, further emphasizes elevation and connection to the spiritual realm.

In the cosmology of the Dan peoples, masquerades embody spirits that guide and protect the community, ensuring things like fertility, justice, and social cohesion. (Fischer & Himmelheber, 1984). Although this headdress' exact ceremonial usage is not known, it is not merely decorative, but a material articulation of Dan spiritual thought and an object that transforms cloth, shells, and hair into a nexus of sacred currents mediating between supernatural and earthly realms.

References

• Bargna, Ivo. African Art. New York: Prestel, 2000.

• Fischer, Eberhard. Masks and Masquerade in Africa. Basel: Museum für Völkerkunde, 1963.

• Fischer, Eberhard, and Hans Himmelheber. The Arts of the Dan in West Africa. Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 1984.

• Vandenhoute, Paul. "Les Dan de la Côte d’Ivoire." Journal de la Société des Africanistes 18, no. 1 (1948): 5–88.

Objects created to safeguard, ward off negative forces, or embody protective spirits.

Protection

Ewe Bochio Couple
Togo
Early-Mid 20th Century
Wood, Fabric, Organic Substances, Cowrie Shells
Collection of Daniel Jones; Acquired from a Private NY Collection; Acquired from the Jeff Rasmussen Collection; Acquired in Togo

These paired bochio (empowered object) figures originate from the Ewe peoples of Ghana and Togo, where they function as significant and powerful ritual instruments within the Ewe cosmology. Unlike objects made primarily for aesthetic appreciation, and much like the majority of traditional African art and material culture, these are activated works of power, created to engage spiritual forces and accomplish various tasks such safeguard the individual, family, or community. They are not just statues but living mediators of good, protective spirits, whose potency is enhanced through consecration, libations, and repeated offerings (Blier, 1995).

The figures are carved from wood and engulfed in layered cloth wrappings such as red, blue, brown, and earth-toned fabrics that bear traces of ritual handling and weathering, accumulating a patina over time. Red is especially significant in Ewe beliefs as a color associated with vitality, warfare, and the channeling of spiritual energy. The cloth layers and other additives accumulate over time by being added during ceremonies to increase the object's spiritual efficacy. Necklaces of cowrie shells and other organic materials further amplify their protective force, binding natural and supernatural power into the figure.

This bochio pair has rough surfaces and encrustations of sacrificial materials, which reflect their previously active ritual lives. Some objects such as these bochio would be "planted" in the ground or placed among other objects on an altar, thus creating the lack of uniformity in appearance of the object regarding its legs. In traditional Ewe practice, such accumulations of materials on an object are not damage, rather they are essential evidence of their spiritual labor and prowess. Each addition, whether fabric, libation, or organic substance, represents an ongoing dialogue between humans and divine forces.

These two figures, presented together, suggest a paired protective function, possibly safeguarding a household, couple, or family group. Bochio may be commissioned by individuals or families seeking resolution to misfortune, illness, or conflict, and they embody the community’s deep investment in spiritual balance, protection, and superstition (Greene, 1996). This bochio pair exemplifies the ways in which traditional African art cannot be separated from lived religious practice, where objects, people, and spirits are woven into a dynamic web of protection, healing, power, much like many religious systems, but more alive in daily lives within traditional African cultures.

References

• Blier, S. P. (1995). African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. University of Chicago Press.

• Greene, S. E. (1996). Gender, Ethnicity, and Social Change on the Upper Slave Coast: A History of the Anlo-Ewe. Heinemann.

This three-headed figure is a Bochio, a spiritually charged object central to the religious practices of the Ouatchi people of southern Benin, a subgroup within the larger Ewe cultural sphere. The term bochio (from bo, meaning “empower” or “empowered,” and chio, means “cadaver”) conveys the conception of these objects as material vessels imbued with spiritual vitality (Blier, 1995). Far from being inert sculptures, bochio are understood as active mediators in relationships between the human and spiritual realms.

This figure is carved in anthropomorphic form, with a prominent head and elongated body, though its surface is heavily encrusted with layers of sacrificial materials. Such accretions, including earth, oils, and other organic matter, were ritually applied to “feed” the figure and activate its force (Monroe, 2014). The binding elements visible around its torso and neck further attest to its function: the tying of cords and insertion of organic matter were ritual techniques designed to bind hostile forces, restrain malevolent spirits, or direct protective power toward the owner or community. An extremely interesting component of this bochio are the three heads (two in the front, one in the back), which is referred to as a janus head. The resulting rough and weathered appearance reflects both the material history of ritual use and the object’s transformation into a prominent object of spiritual potency.

This bochio exemplifies the entanglement of materiality, ritual practice, and belief in West African religious systems, demonstrating how sculpture could serve as both an embodiment of protective force and a record of sustained devotional engagement.

References

• Blier, Suzanne Preston. African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. University of Chicago Press, 1995.

• Monroe, J. Cameron. “Vodun Arts in Urban Spaces: The Production of Social Memory in Abomey.” African Arts, vol. 47, no. 4, 2014, pp. 8–23.

• Nooter, Mary H. Secrecy: African Art That Conceals and Reveals. Museum for African Art, 1993.

This bochio power figure originates from the Fon peoples of Benin. Bochios are anthropomorphic figures created as conduits for spiritual force and have many functions, embodying the intersection of material form and metaphysical power. Unlike sculptures meant solely for aesthetic appreciation, bochios are functional ritual objects activated through the aid of diviners. The purpose of a bochio or power figure is typically utilized to safeguard individuals, families, or communities, grant wishes, and be a direct counter to malevolent forces, illness, or social discord (Blier, 1995).

This example demonstrates the layered complexity of bochio construction. The carved wooden core forms the human-like figure, but its spiritual potency derives from the accumulation of added substances such as iron fragments, clay, cowrie shells, and medicinal matter. Iron is associated with Ogun (the deity of war and iron), is frequently inserted into these figures to enhance their communicative, protective, and combative power. You can see the figure holding a staff known as an asen (iron altar or staff), which is a significant object among the Fon people to aid in communication with ancestors and spirits. Cowrie shells, long used in West Africa as currency and divinatory tools, symbolize both wealth and communication with the spiritual realm. The surface encrustations of earth and sacrificial materials further testify to the figure’s ritual use, embedding it within cycles of offering and invocation (Law, 1997).

The raised arm holding the asen suggests a combative posture, focusing on the figure’s role as a defender against harmful forces. Bochio are not static objects, they are active participants in spiritual practice: they are “charged” through libations, prayers, and ritual manipulations, creating a reciprocal bond between the human community and the spiritual energies embodied in the figure. As Suzanne Blier notes, these works are “living entities” whose efficacy is measured not by complete artistic refinement but by spiritual power and community reliance (Blier 1995, 56).

This bochio shows how African material culture and traditional arts exceed Western categorizations of “object” or “artifact.” Instead, it exemplifies a dynamic, interactive, sacred technology, rooted in materials yet extending into realms of healing, protection, and spiritual communication.

References

• Blier, Suzanne Preston. African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.

• Law, Robin. The Slave Coast of West Africa 1550–1750: The Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade on an African Society. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997.

• Rush, Dana. “Vodun Arts in Urban Spaces: The Mami Wata Shrines of Contemporary Benin.” African Arts 33, no. 4 (2000): 60–75.

Fon Bochio
Benin
Early 20th Century
Wood, iron, cowrie shells, glass, clay, and other organic materials
Collection of Daniel Jones; Acquired from Luc and Ann Huysveld (Belgium)

Grief & Memorialization: Twin Figures of West Africa

Ewe Venavi in a Large Home
Ghana
Mid 20th Century
Wood, cloth, pigment, kaolin clay, organic substances
Collection of Daniel Jones; Acquired from the Jeff Rasmussen Collection; Acquired in Ghana

Among the Ewe people of southeastern Ghana, Togo, and southern Benin, carved wooden figures known as venavi (twin figures) hold profound spiritual and social significance. Traditionally commissioned to represent deceased twins, venavi serve as memorials attached to grief, Ewe cosmology, and are living presences within the household. Venavi are not created as mere artistic objects but as vessels embodying the spiritual essence of the departed, ensuring that bonds between the living and the deceased remain unbroken (Ross 2008).

The set of eight venavi presented within a large wooden home exemplifies the communal and spiritual aspects of venavi, and it is incredibly rare to see such an ensemble. The venavi grouping reflects the symbolic family unit. The wooden structure could have been used as a "daycare" house, and there is uniformity in each figure clothed in similarly patterned textiles and arranged together as family or with a close relationship. Such an arrangement suggests the continuity of kinship or spiritual relationships beyond death, reinforcing the Ewe understanding of personhood as relational and extending to the spiritual and earthly realms (Gadzekpo 2018).

Care of venavi is an active, ongoing practice. Families and those with close relationships feed, bathe, and dress the figures as they would living kin, and carry them with them throughout daily activities, affirming reciprocal obligations with spiritual, symbolic reasoning. The cloth wrappings here are significant, for they not only humanize the figures but also reflect the importance of textiles in Ewe cultural aesthetics and social identity (Picton 1995). Venavi are also often carried by the mother or relatives using wrappings or garments to configure the venavi to the waist or core.

As a whole, this venavi ensemble speaks to the Ewe philosophy of life, death, and continuity, where the boundaries between the living and the departed are permeable and continuous. Rather than severing relationships, death reconstitutes them in new forms. These venavi, housed collectively, embody the enduring ties of kinship, memory, and ritual care that anchor Ewe spiritual and social life.

References

• Gadzekpo, A. (2018). Cultural Expressions of the Ewe: Continuity and Transformation. Accra: Woeli Publishing Services.

• Picton, J. (1995). Textiles of Africa. London: British Museum Press.

• Ross, D. H. (2008). Art of West Africa. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.