Inv. SCE/V-91260
Eshu's Stick

Shaking stick used by Eshu/Papa Legba
Origin: Dahomey, Fon or Yoruba

Used in judicial divination, Eshu's stick is planted in the centre of a hut into which individuals suspected of a theft or murder must enter one at a time. When the guilty party is alone in the presence of the orisha, the stick begins to shake violently, then leaps onto the individual and beats him to death. No guilty party has ever survived more than three days of punishment.