Erinle staff (opa Erinle) (work of art)

Created: Early 20th century
Artist: Unknown Yorùbá artist
Dimensions: 29 7/8 × 13 × 13 1/2 inches (75.9 × 33 × 34.3 centimeters)
Medium: iron, metal; Gift of Charlie Jones
Object Number: 2020.5.1
Culture: Nigerian Yorùbá
Classification: Metal
Department: African

Key Ideas

The Erinle staff is also known as the Opa Erinle or Osanyin staff. Osanyin is the Yorùbá deity of herbal medicine.
This object was created by a Yorùbá artist in Nigeria in the early 20th century. It would have been used by Yorùbá herbalists and priests to help people heal from mental and physical illnesses.
The staff is made from iron, a material that represents strength and protection in Yorùbá culture. It is believed to have healing powers.
There are 16 birdlike figures on this staff. In the Yorùbá culture, the number 16 is considered to be especially powerful.

Learn More

The Erinle staff, also known as the Opa Erinle or Osanyin staff, originates from the Yorùbá people of the Southwestern region in Nigeria. This staff is crafted from iron, which is associated with the deity (god) Ogun in the Yorùbá culture. Ogun is the god of iron, metalworking, and war. The Yorùbá people believe iron to be a powerful and sacred material. It is closely linked to power, strength, protection, and the ability to defend oneself.

Yorùbá herbalists and priests who mastered the healing properties of plants often carried an opa (staff) like this one. The staff served as an altar to Osanyin, the Yorùbá orisa (god) of herbal medicines. The larger bird figure at the top of the staff was believed to carry messages between aye (the physical world) and orun (the spirit world). There are 16 individual bird figures on the Erinle staff (opa Erinle). The number of birds represents the sacred number of divination in Yorùbá traditional religion. Divination is the practice of seeking knowledge about the future by supernatural means.

Additional Resources

Resources for Teachers

Visit a web page to explore the healing power of the Osanyin staff.
Watch a video about the history of the Yorùbá people.
Watch a video about Ogun, the Yorùbá deity of iron, metalworking, and war.

Resources for Students

View a photo of another Yorùbá staff in the NCMA collection.
Visit a web page to view and read about a Yorùbá staff at Duke University.
Visit a web page to view and read about the Staff for Osanyin at Indiana University.