Yoruba Shango Staff, Nigeria

Yoruba Shango Staff / Scepter, Nigeria When not in active use, a Shango Staff would have been visible on an Altar dedicated to Orisha Shango, a Deified former King of the Yoruba City of Oyo. In public, the Staff / Scepter would have been carried by a woman or man inducted into the Priesthood of Shango. These Priests invite Shango to possess them, making the Deity accessible to the gathered worshippers. In this Possession Trance, the Priests dance with a Scepter like this one held in their left hands, a signal that the occasion is outside of the realm of Normal Life, where one would use the right hand for most tasks. Orisha Shango is a major Deity of the Religion of the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria, the Edo People of Southeastern Nigeria, and in the religion of the Fon People of Benin, who call him Sogbo or Ebioso. Many of the Yoruba Gods (Orishas), are both a Deified Ancestor and a Natural Force, both aspects being associated with a Cult and a Priesthood. The Ancestral Shango was t