Sheath for ọ̀pá Oko (Oko’s staff)

Late 19th–early 20th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 343

The signature emblem of Oko, the òrìṣà (deity) of agriculture, is a staff forged by a blacksmith from worn farming implements. Petitions for healing, justice, prosperity, and safe childbirth are directed toward that insignia through the medium of a priestess. Forbidden from touching the ground, the staff would be set inside an open calabash and fed harvested yam, kola nuts, and other offerings. This genre of beaded sheath was used to clothe the staff when it was ritually inactive. Though not a king in life, Oko is frequently honored through visual references to birds, crowns, and other attributes of authority. Triangular flaps affixed along the perimeter of these sheaths signal the presence of the divine, while knot-like motifs composed of interwoven lines evoke the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Sheath for ọ̀pá Oko (Oko’s staff)
Artist: Yoruba bead artist
Date: Late 19th–early 20th century
Geography: Southwest Nigeria
Culture: Yoruba peoples
Medium: Cloth, glass beads
Dimensions: H. 58 3/8 in. x W. 13 1/2 in. x D. 4 in.
Classification: Textiles-Beadwork
Credit Line: Gift of Carol B. Kenney, in memory of Jerome P. Kenney, 2025
Object Number: 2025.97.3
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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