amulet/ leg rattle; iron leg rattle with two lobes containing rattling material; two iron rings attached to both ends; max W: 14.8 cm.
Donor:
Berta Bascom
Collection place:
Nigeria
Verbatim coll. place:
Africa; Nigeria; Yoruba
Culture or time period:
Yoruba
Collector:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection date:
unknown
Materials:
Iron (metal)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Amulets
Function:
5.2 Magic: Objects Associated with Practices reflecting confidence in the ability to manipulate supernatural agencies
Context of use:
rattle for 'abiku' put on child to keep track of it. 'Abiku' = a child that keeps being reborn, literally "born to die". these leg rattles are put on these children and larger ones are worn as the child grows. see excerpt from Johnson's THE HISTORY OF THE YORUBAS (in acc. env.). also see 5-15381. the amulet/ leg rattle is placed on a child born to a woman who has lost several children in infancy.
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
width 14.8 centimeters
Comment:
Put on child to keep track of it. For an abiku, = a child that keeps being reborn. PAHMA Storage Loc: W-13-5