The Cosmos in a Staff : The Glory of Ọpa Ọsanyin: An Understudied Example of Great Yorùbá Art Part 3 Ọpa Ọsanyin as Cosmological Form
Varieties of Ọpa Ọsanyin Design, Technical Genius and Evocative Possibilities 1 Ọpa Ọsanyin is made up of pole with a circle of birds surrounding a single bird , as in the example directly above. I find this example delightful in the evocative force of aspiration suggested by the lyrical rhythm of the way the birds are constructed as straining towards the central bird. The gold sheen with which they are covered amplifies the sense of something glorious and intimate, a conclave and a celebration . Image from Pinterest Abstract This essay demonstrates the significance, within and beyond its Yorùbá origins, of the dramatization of the beauty of nature and its evocative force that is Ọpa Ọ