4122 – African Amulet
- Physical description:
- An amulet consisting of two charm bags, one approximately square and one rectangular, made of very dark leather with a faint embossed pattern of dots and diagonal lines, joined together by a thong of twisted leather. Evidently intended to be worn around a person's neck.
- Museum classification:
- Spells and Charms
- Size:
- 55 x 60 x 4 (larger bag), 60 x 35 x 8 (smaller bag)
- Information:
Part of a collection of objects that belonged to an African Magical Practitioner.
The seller associated these objects with the Dogon people of Mali, but magic of this kind is common throughout West Africa. And, indeed, the Museum has a similar charm bag from Sudan, considerably further east than Mali (MWM 1970). (See Toby Green's book 'Meeting the Invisible Man' about his exploration of magic in West Africa.)
The contents of charm bags of this kind (often called a taweez) usually include a prayer or quotation from the Qur'an.
See also MWM 1707 and 2398.
- Resource:
- Object
- Materials:
- Leather etc.
- Copyright ownership:
- MWM
Part of a collection of objects that belonged to an African Magical Practitioner.
The seller associated these objects with the Dogon people of Mali, but magic of this kind is common throughout West Africa. And, indeed, the Museum has a similar charm bag from Sudan, considerably further east than Mali (MWM 1970). (See Toby Green's book 'Meeting the Invisible Man' about his exploration of magic in West Africa.)
The contents of charm bags of this kind (often called a taweez) usually include a prayer or quotation from the Qur'an.
See also MWM 1707 and 2398.