Object Name: Beaded gourd rattle
Place of Origin: Nigeria
Cultural Group: Yoruba peoples
Materials Used: Gourd, beads, cloth, leather, thread
Dimensions: L: 33.5 cm, Diam: 11.0 cm (L: 13.1 in, Diam: 4.3 in)
Credit Line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum purchase with Manus Fund. X90.422

This rattle may have been created by the same hand as the previous one (X70.684a,b), as suggested by the subtle augmentation of the zigzag bands as the size of the gourd increases (and as one approaches the source of the sacred sound that draws Sango near). Following Yoruba chromacy, the gourd rattle juxtaposes both funfun (cool) and dudu (warm) comparable to the white and red scheme usually found in Sango forms. The colors seem to evoke Sango’s fickle nature – cool one moment, fiery hot the next.

Source: Drewal, H., Mason, J. (1998). “Beads, Body, and Soul – Art and Light in the Yoruba Universe”, Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. page 245