Sango, the thunder orisa, may be wild and belligerent but he can be assuaged by the attentions of female devotees. A woman like this could have calming, cooling effect on the hot, impulsive nature of Sango. She is a study in graceful composure as she takes on thunderbolts which serge into her head. Thunderbolts could come out of Sango's wrath, but they also brought blessings and were signs of his generosity. He could direct his vengeance against thieves, liars, and traitors or give children, wealth, and power.
Oriki for Sango
The god who imparts his beauty
to women with whom he sleeps,
He takes his neighbor's roof
and covers his own head.
He lends money and does not ask it back.
If you do not offer him a seat
he will sit on top of your nose.
If you do not share your maize gruel with him
he will slip under your fingernail and take his share.
Sango does as he pleases.
(Collected by Ulli Beier, 1970)
Wood, twine, and beads
16 3/4 x 4 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (42.6 x 10.8 x 12.1 cm)
Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company
81.17.595
Photo: Paul Macapia
Now on view at the
Seattle Art Museum
Resources
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Hero/Antihero, Dec. 21, 2002 - Aug. 17, 2003.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]). Text by Pamela McClusky. No cat. no., p. 46, reproduced pl. 21.
Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.
