Yoruba Orisha Oko Staff

Orisha Oko looks after the farm and the fertility of the land. His shrine staff is six feet of iron.

Yoruba devotees kept iron staffs like this one in shrines, and the long, blade-like form is closely tied to the god’s identity. Made in Nigeria in the 19th century, this example is mostly a slender tapering blade. Midway down, ringed collars bracket a square plaque with an incised cross. Below, the shaft widens into a decorated section of ribbed and incised bands before ending in a dark socket. Warm rust-brown, with traces of age.

A quiet vertical. Stand it where the room needs a spine.