Crowns
The beaded veiled crown, called adenla ("great crown"), is more than a symbol of kingship. Each crown embodies ideals of political and personal stability, refuge for the oppressed, salvation, and much more. Worn only on ceremonial occasions, the crown gave the king the power to communicate with his spirit ancestors in order to benefit his people. At other times it was kept on display and given the same respect and attention as the king himself. Because these crowns hold so much power, they are among the most sacred Yoruba objects.

Beginning in the 1830s, civil wars disrupted the Yoruba kingdoms. From the 1890s until the 1960s, British and French interference further challenged traditional Yoruba ways. In this climate of political upheaval, Yoruba leaders without official claims to kingship began to commission and wear veiled crowns. Although the sacred powers of Yoruba kings are limited today, disputes still rage over the rights to wear veiled crowns.

King's Crown
This 19th-century king's crown is made of thousands of tiny brightly colored glass beads. Many features of this crown are characteristic of nearly all sacred Yoruba crowns.

Veil
The most distinctive feature of this crown is the veil of beads that once cascaded over the king's face. A net of black, white, maroon, and blue beads is surrounded by multicolored strands of beads. The veil obscured the king's features to protect men and women from looking directly at his face when he was united with his powerful ancestors.

Face
A great yellow face dominates the crown. Its black-and-white almond-shaped eyes, yellow nose, and oval blue mouth are raised from the surface. The three vertical lines on either side of the nose are scars denoting the king's lineage. The face represents a royal ancestor of the king, probably Oduduwa, and unites the spirit world of the ancestors with the earthly world of the king and his people.

Projection
A tall striped projection, perhaps representing a hairstyle, stands above the face. Among some Yoruba, projections from the heads of special individuals signify spiritual power. The projection on this crown once contained a pouch of herbal medicines that gave the crown its power. For fear he would be blinded, even the king could not look inside his own crown.

Birds
Sixteen colorful beaded birds surround the king's crown. These birds signify a divine force called àshe (ah-SHE)--the power to make things happen--which only the highest Yoruba men and women possess. The birds connote the àshe of the king and of a group of elderly women called "the mothers" who support him. The mothers' special power enables them to turn into night birds who punish or destroy those who are arrogant, selfish, or otherwise immoral. On the crown, the birds symbolize the king's power and the mothers' power to protect him and the people.

2. What is this crown made of? (Glass beads.) Make a shopping list of all the bead colors you would need to make this crown. Look carefully at the TEXTURE of the King's crown. If you could touch it, how would it feel? Smooth? Rough? Soft? Bumpy? Sticky? Encourage students to agree on more than one adjective to describe the crown's texture.

3. The beads that were applied to the surface of the crown are of uniform shape, size, and TEXTURE, yet the artist used the beads to define different objects and features on the crown. How did he do it? (Different colors, LINEAR rows of beads running in various directions, some applied to pieces that project out from the surface of the crown.)

Where has the artist varied the direction of the rows of beads to define objects or features? (The black outline around the yellow face, lips, and eyes; birds' eyes are circular against vertical rows of beads on the bird heads; connecting rows of beads on the fringe to form a diagonal pattern where the veil would cover the king's face.)

Where has the artist used color to define objects and features on the crown? (Lips and eyes. Entire face is a different color from the background. Birds are defined by red beaks and white and black eyes. Bands of yellow beads outline some of the wings.) Some beaded parts of the crown are raised slightly to help define features. Where are they? (Eyes, nose, and lips on the face.)

In some cases these hats symbolize special powers the wearers have. Do these hats ever give supernatural power to their owners? If not supernatural power, what kind of power might these people get from wearing special headgear? (No right answer!)

2. Bring in pictures of some other examples of courtly attire from a variety of cultures. Why do you think rulers or important people in various cultures wear this kind of REGALIA? (So that people can identify them, to follow tradition, to appear wealthy and powerful, to link them with rulers of the past.)

Do rulers or important people dress this way every day? On what occasions do they wear their full regalia? When you dress up for special occasions, what does your outfit tell people about you?

3. The birds on the crown represent a group of wise elder women. They are SYMBOLS of the king's ability to deal with the forces of evil. Why might the birds be placed on the king's crown as opposed to other parts of the king's REGALIA? (A Yoruba king uses the wisdom of these elder women to benefit his people. The symbols of the elders appear to surround the king's head, an advantageous location for imparting wisdom. Birds on the king's crown are easy for his subjects to see. The king's crown is the most sacred and powerful of all royal Yoruba objects and so is an honored location reserved for symbols of the other powerful members of the community.)

4. Some people think objects like this king's crown should be kept in museums for everyone to learn from and enjoy, even though they were never intended to be displayed that way. Others think that objects like these are treasures of the cultures they came from and should be returned. What do you think? Explain your answer. (No right answer.)