Engineering:Oshé

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Oshé (Yoruba alphabet: Lua error in Module:Language at line 197: Name for the language code "non" could not be retrieved with mw.language.fetchLanguageName, so it should be added to Module:Language/data.)[1][lower-alpha 1] is the double-headed battle axe of the thunder deity Ṣango in Yoruba religion, representing bolts of lightning hurled by the deity from Ọrun. Carvings of the axe are used as dance wands during rituals or worn as pendants for protection.

Etymology

The Yoruba word Lua error in Module:Language at line 197: Name for the language code "non" could not be retrieved with mw.language.fetchLanguageName, so it should be added to Module:Language/data. comes from o- (a prefix) and Lua error in Module:Language at line 197: Name for the language code "non" could not be retrieved with mw.language.fetchLanguageName, so it should be added to Module:Language/data. (a word meaning "to do", "to make" or "to affect").

Beliefs

A Yorùbá (Igbomina subgroup) dance wand (Oshé Ṣango), late 19th or early 20th century. Wood, pigment, 19 1/2 x 7 x 3 1/4 in. (49.5 x 17.8 x 8.3 cm). ( Photo: Brooklyn Museum)[2]

According to traditional stories of the Yoruba people, the Oshé was made by the deity Ṣango from the wood of the Ayan tree. When he was the Alaafin of Oyo, he wielded the Oshé as a weapon in battle.[3][4] Ṣango eventually committed suicide[lower-alpha 2] by hanging from an Ayan tree.[5]

See also

Notes

  1. Also called Oxé or Oxê in Portuguese.
  2. In some versions of the story, Ṣango didn't commit suicide but rather ascended to the heavens and became a deity.

References