Beaded Royal Coronet (orikogbòfò)

The Yorùbá have a saying: “Beads are like children” (Ìlèkè, l’omo). Beads signify good fortune, wealth, status, and power; rulers wear richly adorned headgear: crowns (adé) on the most important occasions, and coronets (orikogbòfò) at other times. The most sacred crown is conical with a bird or birds at the top, one or more faces, and a beaded veil that covers the ruler’s face. Birds symbolized women’s mystical powers. The faces with prominent eyes suggest ancestors’ vigilance, and the veil distances the ruler from subjects and masks extraordinary powers. The coronets reveal colonial influences: one is modeled after a British crown, another recalls a bishop’s miter. These might have been worn when a ruler was visited by British officials or religious leaders.