This Shango dance wand has been vetted as authentic with signs of use and age. It dates from the 19th or early 20th century.

In special festivals and processions, followers of Shango, the Yoruba god of thunder, carry dance wands, oshe shango, depicting a female devotee with Shango's symbol, the double-headed axe. Shango is thought to control the great powers of nature as one of the orisha, or gods.