Seth Epling

I am studying Fon scepter for the God Hevioso. This object is a wooden staff with an axe like head and is used in political and festival practices in what is now modern day Benin. I want to study this object because I want to learn more about the use of these scepters in court and religious practices. I also want to know more about this specific scepter and the king or Oba who carried this scepter and the effect it had on the Fon people.  I want to know more about how the designs on the scepter represent the king who held it and Hevioso the God of Thunder. This research will help the reader understand that objects that are taken out of festivals have little to no meaning unless it is shown in a practical sense. It helps the reader understand that each object has a much deeper meaning and each king has a god representing them.

One of the things we discussed in class was the power of ase in everyday life. People who have ase have personal power and ase can come for lots of different places. In the reading “Ase: Verbalizing and Visualizing Creative Power Through Art” by Rowland Abiodun, he discusses the implications of Ase and all the places that it can come from. Abiodun states, “Like a sceptre, ase must be received from a source of outside of, and higher that oneself,”(Abiodun, 311)  Although, this is directly describing Yoruba religion there are man parallels between the two religions because Yoruba had lots of influence of Vodou and many other religions that are similar. This connects to my object being a scepter but also it shows that not everyone can be a king with any object. Objects have to meaning but they can not be taken out of context. Professor Abiodun also stated in our class, that these objects can not be displayed in a museum or art show and have ase within them. For this reason, my object needs to be looked in a ritual or practice. The whole ritual has to be understood and the background of the king and the god of the practice have to be learned in order to really feel the ase of this object

To further understand the use and meaning of the scepter in Vodou religion, I will be trying to find a video of the ritual. This will increase the understanding of the ritual because I will be able to see it. Another primary source I want to find is a first hand experience in an article by someone who went to the festival. Hopefully by someone who practices vodou so I can get their point of view. The last source I will need is an article about the king and the god who is represented by the scepter, this will be a secondary source and is needed to understand the background of the ritual.