Dancewand for Sango

Label TextSango's visual sign is the double axe, seen here with dual heads. At a festival in his honor, sharp drumming, sounding like a lightning strike, signals the arrival of his devotees. Dancing to the piercing, cracking sounds and staccato rhythms, the devotee will wave the wand to illustrate Sango's hot temper and punishing justice.

Object number81.17.593

Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, African Art in Motion: Icon and Act, Jan. 20 - Mar. 17, 1974 (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, May 5 - Sept. 22, 1974). Text by Robert Farris Thompson. No cat. no., pp. 96-97, reproduced pl. 131 (as "shango" axe). Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Hero/Antihero, Dec. 21, 2002 - Aug. 17, 2003.

Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

Dimensions12 11/16 x 3 11/16 x 2 7/16 in. (32.2 x 9.3 x 6.2 cm)

MediumWood, metal