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Yorùbá Beadwork in the Americas: Òrìṣà and Bead Color

1998; UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center; Volume: 31; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/3337621

1937-2108

John E. Mason,

Educational and Social Studies

In the following excerpt, John Mason, himself a babalorisa (priest of an orisa, or Yoruba divinity), discusses the colors associated with specific orisa and their domains and attributes: Esu-Elegba, the cosmic crossroads; Ogun, the hunt, iron, and war; Erinle, medicine and the hunt; Osoosi, the hunt; Osun, the gushing spring; Yemoja, motherhood; Olokun, the waters; Oya, the whirlwind; Babaluaiye, the earth; Sango, thunder; the creator god Obatala, ethical rightness. In the African diaspora, beads are used most widely in necklaces, ileke, and they also encircle and guard other major points where parts of the body meet (wrist, waist, ankle). The color associations found in ileke extend to crowns, fly whisks, banners, and numerous other beaded items for orisa devotees and their shrines.