Yoruba Royal Regalia

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For the African monarch, royal regalia emphasized authority and legitimacy when it came to ruling. The Yoruba-style crown from the Fowler Museum illustrates the finest replication of the royal regalia. Titled the Crown of Initiation, 1990s, it upholds royal authority and legitimacy to rule by being a beaded crown, the craftsmanship necessary, and the formal aspects of colors and figures that represent abstract concepts. To begin, royal regalia have been depicted in many art forms, but the idea of royalty is upheld through the simplest means of a crown. On top of that, the fact that the crown is made up of beads further enhances royal authority and legitimacy based on the Yoruba people in Africa. After some time learning about the Yoruba culture, …show more content…

At the top of the Yoruba style crown, there is a bird on top of an elephant, which are covered with beads. Once again the beads are significant, but the fact that the animals are covered in them shows an association of royal power. In the Yoruba culture, animals are conveyed on crowns because they symbolize important ideas and beliefs. The elephant might perhaps symbolize power because of the actual size of a real elephant and long life due to a typical elephant’s life span. The crown also consists of the bird on top of the elephant and a feather, but the fact that the bird is on top of the larger animal signifies superiority. According to Blier’s analysis of the significance of a bird on a crown shows that “The symbolic power of the crown is reinforced by figures of birds surmounting the crown, which refer to the great “mothers” or witches whose potent supernatural force the ruler was held to share…” (Blier 2012:11). Also, when analyzing the bird itself, “is said to represent the royal okin (paradise flycatcher…” and its positioning on the crown “…appears to strengthen the king’s difference in power and status from other people” (Blier 2012:11). Thus, the feature of the bird in beads does more than decorate the

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