Angola/Zambia/Democratic Republic of Congo
Chokwe

Wood, cane, seedpod
Late 19th-Early 20th Century
Length: 14 in
Idiophone – Struck Indirectly – Shaken -Rattle

This basketry rattle called ‘musambo’ is  part of an ensemble of paraphernalia used by a Chokwe diviner to diagnose a client’s problem. The skillfully braided basketry rattle, made in a spherical shape, is used to invoke the diviner’s tutelary ancestor.  Provenance: Dr. Walter Mason Collection