Osogan (Osun staffs) are kept by the Osun priests, and they were usually fortified with medicine. Osun is the deity of medicine and ensures the effective use of all forms of medicines, curative or otherwise. Osun is worshipped by the professional traditional doctors called Ewaise, and their guild performs an annual festival called Ehosun in honour of the Osun deity. During the festival, medicines are believed to be strengthened, and the Osogan can stand without support, exhibiting mystic powers. Osun can also be worshipped domestically. Households with Osun shrines have special rooms where their medicine is kept, and annual rites are performed. Different priests have various ornaments on their Osogan which usually represent the powers they have attained – when a priest acquires or attains a certain power, he adds a representation of this power to his Osogan. This makes every Osogan different.

Osogan are usually made of iron, sometimes with brass cast decorations, however a smaller number of more elaborate staffs are made entirely from brass. These cast examples would have belonged to the Ọba and been used by the Ewaise (Ben-Amos Girshick in Plankensteiner, 2007, p.476

). Osun is a deity of medicine, whose power can be invoked to protect and cure people. Osun staffs can be identified through imagery used, such as the Akala bird (a large vulture native to parts of Nigeria), the chameleon, stone celts and snakes.

Osogan

Osun Staff

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The British Museum’s archives are held in various locations across the institution. The items listed here aim to give an overview of the main locations where relevant archival and photographic material relating to objects from the Kingdom of Benin is housed. Key areas relevant for cultural objects from the Kingdom of Benin are: Corporate Archives; Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas archives; Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory archives; and the Anthropology Library and Research Centre.

Website

Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas 

Online Catalogue

Library & Archive

British Museum

Internal Data (eng)

British Museum link

Ball, G. L. 

Collected in the field

Member of the Royal Navy

Ball, M. H. 

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