Eyinle Pot Lid (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
This lid was made to grace the top of an awo ota Eyinle (vessel for the stones of Eyinle). In the Yoruba pantheon, Eyinle is known as the river goddess. During initiation into her cult, new devotees receive objects that possess Eyinle’s àse (power):two river stones, some sand, and water from the river. The initiates then place them into the vessel.The projections on this lid suggest the river stones that would be placed inside the Eyinle pot. The four supports that come together in a cone shape at the top refer to the ilé orí (house of the head), aligning the devotee’s head with the destiny of the òrìsà.Many female òrìsà, like Eyinle, are associated with water and coolness, to calm and pacify other deities.
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