Thursday, September 21, 2006

Cambridge library


Photographs covering the British Empire, religion, military campaigns, amongst others. Link…
This photograph was taken by a soldier on the Kumasi Ashanti Expedition, Whale (Ju Ju) Big fetish play, Gold Coast (circa 1900). A large whale-shaped object approximately twenty to twenty-five feet in length. The object appears to be a boat covered in a tarpaulin, with a 'mouth' at one end, a 'tail' at the other and two propeller-like objects on the side, possibly representing fins. The 'whale' also has a number of ornately decorated objects mounted along its top.

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