Duende Art Projects

Technique: Anonymous Mumuye artist Nigeria, Early 20th century Iron. 52 cm Provenance Finette Lemaire, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2022 Duende Art Projects, Antwerp, Belgium, 2022

Size: 52 x 0 cm

Authenticity: Certificate provided

Edition: Unique work

Mumuye Rain-making wand

In Nigeria’s Middle Benue region, Mumuye rainmakers were regarded with awe. They brought rains on time each year to assure the fertility of crops. Among their ritual instruments were forged iron wands in distinctive zigzag form, which represented a flash of lightning or the sudden strike of a snake, both harbingers of thunder and rain. Such regalia were kept in the ground inside shrines where offerings could be made. These wands could take elaborate forms, with several pointed iron elements bundled in clusters or inserted into small ceramic vessels.