Ancestral Asen Adaptability of The Fon P

Adaptability of the Fon:
ANCESTRAL ASEN
Chaya M. Krimmer
cmkrimmer@gmail.com
The Fon, nestled on the Gold Coast of West Africa, are the largest ethnic group in
Benin (formally Dahomey) and parts of Togo. The Fon are a highly adaptable people that
have been profoundly affected by the cultures they have interacted with, from the Yoruba,
their West African neighbors, to European slave traders, colonists and missionaries. We
will look at the adaptability of the Fon through the lens of a ritual object known to the
Fon as the ancestral asen. While the term asen is a generic word for a type of moveable
metal object able to hold or affix spiritual entities, 1 the asen we will concentrate on this
paper is the ancestral asen, the asen made specifically to honor the dead. In this paper, we
will see how the asen originated with the influence of the Yoruba medicine staff, the Opa
Osanyin, and how utilization of the asen changed from solely the domain of the kingly
families to the vast range of Fon society, including the common Fon palm oil farmers,
with the colonization of Benin by the French in the late eighteen hundreds. Finally we
will see how the asen is currently falling out of disuse with the influence of Beninese
Christians and missionaries who shun the traditional ancestral worship of the Fon.
Structurally, the ancestral asen is made up of an iron pole or stake that is either
carried by worshipers or planted firmly in the floor of a sacred prayer house or on an
altar, a round tableau decorated with a cast of characters, animals, and vignettes, and a
reverse conical base with hanging pendants. There are two main types of asen based on
the construction of the reverse conical basethe asen aladsen and the asen gbadota. 2
1
Bay, Edna. Asen, Ancestors, and Vodun: Tracing Change in African Art. Chicago:
University of Illinois Press, 2008, 1.
2
Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 2
The asen aladsen, the more traditional of the two, has a closed conical base while the asen
gbadota has metal umbrella-like spokes attaching the iron stake to the tableau. See
photographs on pages 19 and 20. The iconography on the tableau of the asen are similar
to the imagery on a headstone or cairn and, like a headstone, often it is only the
immediate family of the deceased and the blacksmith who who made the asen who can
wholly understand the significance of its images. 3 For Westerners to understand the asen
as best we can, we must take the imagery of the asen and place it within the complexity
of Fon culture, which we will attempt to do shortly.
Firstly, however, we will describe the technique through which the asen is made
called cire perdue or lost wax-casting. First beeswax must be melted down, shaped, and
then left to harden. Next a mixture of soil, sand, and ground palm nuts is layered over the
beeswax. After the clay mold dries, it is brought to the firing room where the beeswax is
melted out of the cast and liquid metal is poured inside. The technique is called lost-wax
because the original mold is broken ensuring a one of a kind work of art. 4 After the
tableau is cast, wood or iron is used for the reverse conical base, which can be in either
the aladasen or gbadota style, and then metal pins are used to attach the characters to the
tableau. Various shapes can be used for the pendants which hang off the edges of the

3
Bay, Edna. Iron Altars of the Fon People of Benin. Atlanta: Emory University Museum of
Art and Archeology, 1985, 9.
4
Bay, Edna. Iron Altars of the Fon People of Benin. Atlanta: Emory University Museum of Art
and Archeology, 1985, 28.

tableau. Frequently these shapes speak to the maker of the family. A clan of the famed
Houndtondji family, for example, uses a unique bean shape for these pendants. 5 See
photograph on page 21. Cooling the asen is the final process and is particularly important
because Gu, the god of iron, is thought to inhabit the asen prior to its consecration to the
deceased. See photograph of metal statue of Gu on page 26. When the asen is
consecrated, the spirit of Gu must depart the asen before the deceased can alight upon it.
In order to cajole Gu to leave the asen, the donor offers gin, money, nuts, and pepper to
Gu along with a calabash of water and leaves sacred to Gu. After this small ceremony the
asen is ready to be consecrated to the spirit of the deceased. 6
Visually the asen is created with one of three different foci. 7 The characters and
images either face the viewer like actors on a stage, face each other in a circular pattern,
or are randomly placed around the tableau. There may be one coherent theme with
several characters on the asen or there may be several themes acting upon each other.
Made of iron, brass, wood, shells, or similar materials, the tableau may depict the
deceased doing an activity he was known for in life, something important to him, or it
may simply honor his memory. Likewise it may show images of animals, plants, places,
or celestial objects and it can also depict the donor, the one who commissions the making
5
6
7
of the asen. When the donor is present on the asen, the deceased is pictured sitting, a sign
of age and authority, while the donor kneels in supplication or holds a calabash, one of
the most complex symbol for the Fon. See photograph on page 21.
Because of its centrality to Fon cosmovision, the calabash is the first symbol used
frequently on the ancestral asen that we will discuss. The calabash, particularly the closed
calabash, is germane to the Fon worldview because it is understood to be shaped in the
likeness of the universe. The calabash is divided into two equal part with the top half
representing male energy as well as the sky, the heavens, and the realm of the invisible
spirits. The bottom half of the calabash represents female energy and the primeval waters
from which the physical world was created. 8 The calabash is also a symbol of both
offering and sacrifice to the Fon. Open calabash gourds are used to offer food and drink
to both the living and the dead and, in fact, the calabash is the only vessel used for
ceremonial matters by the Fon. 9 In an area of the world where resources are scarce,
accepting food and drink is considered a sign of trust to the Fon. 10 When visitors enter a
home they are immediately given a calabash of water from which both the giver and the
receiver drink. Until this ritual is complete, no business or socializing takes place. The
calabash is also a symbol of equality because all drink from the same gourd, be they
8
Lawal, Babatunde. Ejiwapo: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yoruba Art and Culture.
African Arts. Spring 2008: 25.
9
10
honored or simple men. Similarly, open gourds are used to feed the dead food and drink,
where they are left on the floor of the prayer house for the deceased to consume.
While the calabash is one of the most popular symbols on the ancestral asen, the
braided cord, a wooden pillar called kpanzon, the rainbow serpent, the cross, and the
chameleon are also popular images. 11 The braided cord, a symbol of the continuity of
lineage, is typically portrayed in the hands of the deceased or with the deceased handing
the braided cord to his children. This demonstrates the hope and promise that the children
will continue on in the ways of their ancestors, that they will continue to braid the sacred
cord. 12 The braided cord can also be displayed standing alone with a small bone attached
to it. The Fon word for bone is often used in an expression for something that requires
great strength or effort. For this reason, a braided cord with a bone is a prayer that the
children will expend great effort to follow in the footsteps of their fathers and mothers. A
kpanzon is a small wooden pillar with a forked top seen on many familiar ancestral asen.
See photograph on page 25. The kpanzon, a symbol of protection and support, thanks the
deceased for their prayers and blessings from the underworld. 13
The rainbow serpent represents the Vodun spirit Dan Ayido Weido, who is both
11
12
13

male and female. Dan Weido is the male counterpart and is always depicted with horns,
while Dan Ayido is the female counterpart. Dan is responsible for transmitting souls to
and from the heavens and it is Dan who allows the Fon to 'braid the cord' of family
continuity (Bay, 1985, 18). Dan is sometimes visualized as a snake swallowing his tail,
which represents Dan perpetuating the act of creation by holding the universe together. 14
Dan is also associated with the navel, the umbilical cord which attaches mother to child,
and the veins of the body. 15
Although the Fon have had contact with Christians since the sixteenth century, the
cross on the asen, until perhaps recently, has not been used as a symbol of the Christian
faith. The cross can represent several different things to the Fon. Firstly the cross can
symbolize animals sacrificed in honor of the ancestors. It is not uncommon, to the
chagrin of Beninese Christians, for the asen to display crocodiles, cats, and hawks
hanging from crosses. Secondly, the cross can be understood as representing the four
times of daymorning, afternoon, evening, and nightas well as the four cardinal
directions. 16 Thirdly, the cross can represent the Fon deity Mawu, the female aspect of the
twin creator couple. 17 Mawu is thought to rule the night and is associated with the moon
14
15
Blier, Suzanne. African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1995, 201.
16
Ben Amos, Paula. Art, Innovation, and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Benin. Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1999, 64.
17
and cool air. In addition, a chameleon on the asen represents Mawus consort Lisa, the
male aspect of the twin creator deity. In the analogy of the closed calabash, the bottom of
the calabash represents Mawu as well as female, night, coolness, water, fertility, and
motherhood, while the top half of the calabash represents Lisa, male, day, heat, fire,
fatherhood, and virility. 18
Mawu-Lisa are both high gods and sometimes they are seen as one
hermaphroditic god. Mawu-Lisa are twin children of Nana Baluku, the Supreme Fon
Deity, who is considered too high and exalted to be formally worshiped. 19 Mawu-Lisa,
themselves, gave birth to seven set of twins, the primary Vodun spirits, including
Heviosso, Gu, Fa, and Legba to name a few. Mawu-Lisa creates through a life force
known as gla to the Fon or ashe to the Yoruba. Gla is extended to the Creator to the
created and, in this way, all created beings are able to use gla to, themselves, create. This
extends to humans. 20
Another symbol frequently portrayed on the asen is the double-bladed ax. The
double-bladed ax is sacred to Heviosso, the deity of thunder, fire, and power. Heviosso
has always had a particularly strong following by both the Fon and the Yoruba. He is

18
Lawal, Babatunde. Ejiwapo: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yoruba Art and Culture. African
Arts. Spring 2008: 27.
19
Deren, Maya. Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti. New York: McPherson
& Company, 2004.
20
Faseyin, Awotunde. Iwakeri: The Quest for Afrikan Spirituality. Damballah Ancestral Order
Publishing, 2005: 27.
believed to have one been a legendary king of Oyo, the ancient capital city of the Yoruba.
Heviosso works for justice and is swift with punishment of offenders. He is also a
symbol of vitality and dance. An iron sword, representing the Vodun Gu, the god of
metal, politics, and war, is also a popular image on the asen. Gu has a special connection
to the asen because the asen, itself, is made of metal, which Gu rules over. Gu is sacred
to blacksmiths and toolmakers.
Puns, proverbs, and phrases with double meaning are also commonly found on the
ancestral asen. An awa, a carpenter's tool with a sharp metal blade, for example, is often
depicted. 21 In this case it does not demonstrate that the deceased was a carpenter or handy
man but alludes to the Fon expression n wa, which translates to "I have come". 22 The
affirmation I have come is a pledge to the deceased that his children have and will
come to honor him. Another popular pun is depicted with a bird sitting on a shaft of
millet. See photograph on page 25. The bird depicted is the gbejihe, which is known for
its destructive behaviors and its tendency to not leave even one single grain of millet in
its wake untouched. Of the gbejihe, the Fon say, If only one bird remains, he will find
millet and eat. 23 In terms of the asen, however, the bird is looked on as an inspiration,
implying that if even one child is left alive, that child will honor the memory of his
21
22
23
ancestors. Similarly, objects are often put on the ancestral asen that hint at the last name
of the deceased. To use a Western corollary, ceramic bowls might be placed on an asen to
hint that the last name of the deceased was Potter.
A foot next to a yam and a dog with a fish in his mouth are also popular images.
Taken together, the Fon words for food and yam form the expression I am wholly
upright or I am wholly sincere. 24 The foot and yam, see photograph on page25,
demonstrate that the living are willing and able to serve the dead. The dog with a fish, or
similar objects, in his mouth represents the Fon proverb that the dog that traps an animal
takes it to show his owner. 25 This image is a promise that the children will share their
blessings with the dead. Pigs, frogs, bulls, and lions are also frequently used. Both the
bull and lion symbolize kingship and are used by the Beninese royal family to display
their status. The asen displayed on page 22, for example, was made to honor King
Tegbesu. A snake consuming a frog is based on the proverb that a snake will be saved by
an invisible handunseen powers are available to protect us. 26 Images of pigs also
represent a proverb which says as long as the pig is free, no grass will grow in front of
my father's house. 27 This demonstrates personal responsibility and promises that the
24
25
26
27
children will be industrious and maintain responsibility in family affairs.
The ancestral asen, in effect, acts as a living memory of the ancestors and is a
place for the dead to rest and be honored. The dead, however, do not sit idly. In some
ways they become even more powerful in the afterlife. Author Maya Deren explains that
through ceremony and rituals used to memorialize the dead, ancestors effectively reach
the status of gods. She writes, What was once believed, is now believed in. He who was
once respected is now revered. Where once the parent inspired filial devotion, the deity
now exacts dedication. The ancestor has been transfigured into a god. 28 Like the living,
in order for the ancestors to continue to thrive and to shower blessings on their progeny,
they must be fed, and they are fed in the deho.
The deho, a one-room building with wide doorways, is a sacred space where
ancestors are remembered and where the living commune with the dead. It is the place
where the ancestors are consulted on both family and business matters. Sparse with
furnishings, the centerpiece of the deho is the ancestral asen, which are made and
displayed for every deceased family memberboth male and female. Scattered between,
and in front of, the many asen are the open calabash gourds, as mentioned before, filled
with water, strong drink, libations, even blood and bowls of rice, legumes, and the
favorite foods of the ancestors. The Fon approach the deho in times of family change

28
& Company, 2004, 29.

such as births and marriages, when family members are undergoing new business or
educational enterprises, and when the family is suffering misfortune such as infertility,
illness, or troubling dreams. Ancestors, unbound by physical bodies, are as strong as the
deities, the Vodun, and can intercede on behalf of their children.
The holy dead in the deho are approached during established times of the year,
and it is incumbent on every individual member of a family to visit the deho at least once
annually. 29 As Fon tradition proscribes, entrance to the deho is a solemn and puissant
occasion. Those who bring food and drink for the ancestors bow their heads and approach
the deho respectfully. Men uncover their chests and women bare their shoulders in
humility as all of the family kneels except for the eldest woman in the family lineage, the
tassinon or tansinon, who leads the ceremony and is trained to channel the spirits of the
Queen Mothers of Benin and to offer praise to the deceased kings.
Dipping a calabash of water, a tansinon greets the dead in a manner paralleling

everyday Fon hospitality, pouring water at the bases of the asen. With the water,
she calls the dead, inviting their presence to receive the offerings of the living and
to participate in the life of the family. Next, she serves alcoholic beverages, again
by pouring them at the base of the asen or by splashing them over the asen tops.
The blood of sacrificed animals is offered next....Finally, offerings of food are
placed before the asen, the small calabashes containing as a minimum the beans
favored by the dead. As the assembled family kneels, heads lowered in respect,
the spirits of the ancestors sup, silently and invisibly absorbing the essence of the
proffered foods. 30
When the ancestors have finished their feast, celebrants take turns eating spoonfuls of
29
30
and Archeology, 1985, 34
food out of open calabashes, according to their positions within the family.
Yoruba Opa Osanyin: Precursor of the Asen
The Fon and their western neighbors, the Yoruba, share many cultural beliefs and
attributes. Both cultures, for example, view the calabash as a symbol of the cosmos.
Both cultures practice ancestor worship and serve the spirits, which the Fon call the
Vodun, as we have previously mentioned, and the Yoruba call the Orisha. These two
peoples have had close contact due to geographic locality and have had considerable
influence on each other. They, in fact, may come from a common ancestor who
established both the Kingdom of Dahomey and the Yoruba holy city of Ife. 31 It is with
this encounter between the Yoruba and the Fon from which the asen was formed. The
precursor of the asen is the Yoruba medicine staff, the Opa Osanyin, sacred to the Yoruba
Orisha Osanyin, the spirit of medicine, healing, and herbalism and known to the Fon as
Asen. The Opa Osanyin is an iron pole or stand with either a single or multiple birds on
its apex, which looks similar in form to the ancestral asen. 32 See photograph on page 23.
Bay (2008) writes:
The name asen and the distinct conical form of Fon ancestral asen were adopted
from the Yoruba culture. In Yoruba-speaking areas, the name and form are
associated with the orisha of medicine, Osanyin, whose knowledge of the healing
31
Ryder, A. A Reconsideration of the Ife-Benin Relationship. The Journal of African
History 6/1 (1965): 25.
32
Farris Thompson, Robert. Icons of the Mind: Yoruba Herbalism Arts in Atlantic Perspective.
African Arts 80/3 (Spring 1975): 52.

properties of leaves and herbs offers humankind relief from physical
sufferingAn Opa Osanyin typically consists of an iron stake surmounted by a
circular form or an inverted cone that is topped with birds. Alternate forms may
include miniature representations of forged metal tools arranged in conical form
(30).
The Fon appropriated the form and the name of the Opa Osanyin and were able to adapt
its usage in way uniquely their own. 33
History of the Asen
The kings and queen mothers of the Kingdom of Dahomey, which the Benin
monarchy was called, were known for their proliferation of the arts and in its first
incarnation the ancestral asen, patterned after the Opa Osanyin, was commissioned and
used exclusively by the ruling class. Because worship of the Vodun was so strong among
the Fon common people in the late eighteen hundreds, turning kingly ancestors into gods,
as Maya Deren asserts, was partly a political move by the monarchy. Not only did the
ancestral asen lift the ancestors on par with the Vodun, it also spoke to those in the royal
family vying for kingship. The true political arena was the chiefs and members of the
kingly family in that the power of the ancestors, and their blessings, were harnessed as a
social control method by the monarchy. 34 If the ancestors were pleased, how could
brothers of the king usurp him? This may have worked in theory but seldom acted as a
33
34
Ben Amos, Paula. Art, Innovation, and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Benin. Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1999, 6.

true deterrent. A Beninese king, in fact, was more likely to be attacked by brothers and
fellow chiefs in his party than by outside forces.
Benin flourished in size and wealth under King Gezo, the ninth king of the empire
during the years 1818-1858. Gezo waged wars and the captives were sold into slavery or
were forced to work on European-owned palm oil plantations. It was during his reign that
the legendary Hountondji family migrated to Benin from what is now Togo. The
Hountondji family, distant relatives of the king, took up residence in Abomey in an area
which abutted the palace of the old kings and is still known as the Hountondji Quarter. 35
Because the Beninese monarchy encouraged the production of arts, the Hountondji
family was provided with grants, wives, slaves, and land. Fon myth purports that the
Hountondji family were always blacksmiths and that they brought Gu with them to
Benin. 36 The Hountondji family made a name for themselves through the production of
asen. They were celebrated by their ability to mimic and incorporate the technology of
others into their own and through their innovation in both iron and silver work. 37 Daa
Hountondji, however, stood out even among the Hountondji clam both in his manner of
dress and his unique skill with metalwork. He wore European clothing, even wearing the
35
36
37

lion of England on his garments. His nickname was "yovo" meaning white person
because he was able to create anything the Europeans could make whether in weaponry
38
or art. The Hountondji family held a monopoly on the production of asen until the
disposition of the Beninese monarchy.
While King Gezo had welcomed the Hountondji family, they continued to flourish
under his son and successor, King Glele (1858-1889). Glele was a strong ruler like his
father but his reign was strongly affected by the end of the international slave trade. The
slave trade, lasting from the beginning of the seventeen hundreds through the end of the
eighteen hundreds, very much shaped the people of the Slave Coast. Over a period of just
under two hundred years more than a million slaves were exported out of West Africa by
the English and other European nations. The economy of the Kingdom of Dahomey was
upheld primarily through annual raids and military expeditions, which provided a surplus
of men, women, and children who could be sold into slavery. 39 The men and women
captured in wars, frequently against the neighboring Yoruba kingdoms, were either sold
to Europeans and Americans for oversees transport or were forced to work on European-
owned palm oil plantations, one of the main resources of Benin.
It was during King Gleles reign that the first accounts of asen were written about
by Westerners. King Glele commissioned British entomologist J.A. Skertchly, against his
38
39
Blier, Suzanne. African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1995, 23.
will, to record the customs of the Beninese people. Skertchly witnessed Sin Kwain, the
holy Water Sprinkling Ceremony, where prayers and sacrifices are offered to deceased
Beninese monarchs. Skertchly observed the unveiling of many asen and blood from both
animals and humans being sprinkled on asen inside the deho, filled with both human and
animal skulls. Skertchly, quoted in Burton, explained that:
It is no mere lust of blood or delight in torture or death that underlies the rite in
these lands. The King has to perform a disagreeable task over his ancestral graves,
and he does it; his subjects would deem it impious were he to curtail or to omit
the performance, and suddenly it would be as if a European monarch were
forcibly to abolish prayers for the dead (Burton, 1864, 176).
The end of the reign of King Glele, however, was marked by increase conflict by
French colonists. Gleles son, King Behanzi, ruled Benin for five years during the First
and Second Franco-Dahomean Wars before the French dismantled the monarchy in
1900. 40 Although the French abolished the kingship, they, ironically, upheld the social
stratification of the Kingdom of Dahomey by appointing members of the kingly family as
political chiefs in the new regime. 41 The Fon quickly adapted their cultural practices in
the face of French imposition by opening up the use and production of asen to all
members of society. The fall of the monarchy, effectively, brought the asen from outside
the realm of kingship into the hands of the people. At first, however, some social
stratification occurred in determining who would be honored with asen, and not
40
41

surprisingly, it was the new chiefs appointed by the French who ushered in the new age
of the asen. Similarly, early on, only the wealthiest people in Fon society were able to
afford the making of asen primarily because, up until that point, asen were made of only
the richest of materials.
By the 20th century, asen usage spread to all levels of Fon society. 42 Farmers and
laborers could commission asen made of steel, discarded tin cans, bottle caps, and other
kinds of scrap metal. Likewise, asen changed from a means of honoring those ancestors
who had achieved significant accomplishments to a vehicle which primarily expressed
family continuity and unity. Bay writes,
The message of the royal ancestral asen of the precolonial period focuses on the
visible world of state power, on the strengths of the kings and queen mothers of
the dynasty. In contrast, the decorative tableaux of asen of the mid-twentieth-
century, roughly from the 1920s through the 1970s, speak intimately of
relationships within families. They talk of close friends, of the dead, and the
connection between the living and the dead (Bay, 2008, 115).
This change from honoring significant achievement to honoring family stability and
union was not the only change in asen after French colonization. The asen of the
monarchy tended to be taller, narrower, and simpler with only one or two characters on
the asenfor example the simple bull on the asen commissioned for King Tegbesu. 43 In
earlier history, puns and proverbs were the most popular types of iconography but in later
42
43

times more literal images were used. Because people of all socioeconomic status were
able to purchase asen, a new creativity in asen making emerged. Not only was asen open
to all people, it was also open to all smiths. The Hountondji family, however, maintain a
monopoly on the asen even today.
Christian Influence on Asen
In this paper we have seen how the Yoruba Opa Osanyin sparked the creation of
the asen and how colonization by the French changed both the design and the usage of
the asen. In the late 20th century missionaries have influenced the decline of the asen.
Roman Catholic and Methodist missionaries play an enormous role in the education of
Beninese children. Likewise, Christians were more likely to be appointed to political
positions by the French under their rule giving Christians an advantage in political
affairs. 44 Islam too has made its way to parts of north and eastern Benin. Today, many
Fon influenced by their Christian and Muslims neighbors prefer to use photographs as a
substitute for asen. 45 Beninese families are also choosing decidedly Western funerary
practices such as the use of urban mortuaries. Some have chosen to abandon the deho
entirely, discarding the asen. 46 Others line the deho with pictures of the deceased. Can
44
45
46
the asen be saved?
It is possible considering the modern revival of the vodun system, and vodun
artwork in particular, which has occurred in the past thirty years in Benin. The
International Festival of Vodun Arts and Cultures, which began in 1993, is an example of
this revival. This yearly arts festival, known as Ouidah 92, is the first instance of
governmental support of Vodun arts since the postcolonial period. At these festival large
colorful canvases depicting the vodun spirits Gu, Dan, and Heviosso hang next to modern
sculptures made of scrap metal and walls painted with slaves breaking chains
remembering Benin's role in the international slave trade. Ouidah 92 displays works by
artists from both Benin and the African diaspora and explores the relationship between
Vodun in Benin and its offshoots in the worldSanteria in Cuba and Puerto Rico,
Voodoo in Haiti and New Orleans, and Candomble in Brazil. 47 Hopefully, with help from
the diaspora, the Fon will continue to grow in ways that positively affect both their
religious and cultural expression.

47
Hackett, Rosalind. Art and Religion in Africa. Continuum International Publishing Group,
1998, 203.
Photograph 1: Asen Aladasen
Traditional Asen with Closed Conical Base
Woman Holding a Calabash
(Bay, 1985, 12)

P
hotograph 2: Asen Gbadota
Asen with Umbrella-like Spokes
Bean-Shaped Pendants
Kneeling Woman holds Calabash
(Bay, 1985, 13)

Photograph 3: Asen of King Tegbesu
Same as Front Cover
(Bay, 1985, 40)

Photograph 4: Statue of Gu, God of Iron
(Bay, 2008, 29)

Photograph 5: Kpazon. Bird on Millet. Yam and Foot.
(Bay, 1985, 30)

Photograph 6: Opa Osanyin
Brooklyn Museum Website
Accessed 4/29/12
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/166630

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Adande, Joseph. Asen and Methodology in Art History. African Arts 40/3
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& Company, 2004.
Farris Thompson, Robert. Icons of the Mind: Yoruba Herbalism Arts in Atlantic
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Ancestral Asen Adaptability of The Fon P

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Adaptability of the Fon:

carried by worshipers or planted firmly in the floor of a sacred prayer house or on an

of Fon culture, which we will attempt to do shortly.

University of Illinois Press, 2008, 3.

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 3

asen is ready to be consecrated to the spirit of the deceased. 6

calabash, is germane to the Fon worldview because it is understood to be shaped in the

deceased for their prayers and blessings from the underworld. 13

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 6

and the veins of the body. 15

symbolize animals sacrificed in honor of the ancestors. It is not uncommon, to the

fatherhood, and virility. 18

and Archeology, 1985, 17.

to blacksmiths and toolmakers.

hint that the last name of the deceased was Potter.

they must be fed, and they are fed in the deho.

University of Illinois Press, 2008, 99.

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 11

deities, the Vodun, and can intercede on behalf of their children.

Queen Mothers of Benin and to offer praise to the deceased kings.

Dipping a calabash of water, a tansinon greets the dead in a manner paralleling

Yoruba Opa Osanyin: Precursor of the Asen

Bay (2008) writes:

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 13

its usage in way uniquely their own. 33

History of the Asen

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 14

fellow chiefs in his party than by outside forces.

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 15

disposition of the Beninese monarchy.

owned palm oil plantations, one of the main resources of Benin.

animal skulls. Skertchly, quoted in Burton, explained that:

stratification of the Kingdom of Dahomey by appointing members of the kingly family as

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 17

the richest of materials.

who had achieved significant accomplishments to a vehicle which primarily expressed

family continuity and unity. Bay writes,

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 18

monopoly on the asen even today.

Christian Influence on Asen

Beninese children. Likewise, Christians were more likely to be appointed to political

religious and cultural expression.

University of Illinois Press, 2008, 138.

Traditional Asen with Closed Conical Base

Woman Holding a Calabash

(Bay, 1985, 12)

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 21

Asen with Umbrella-like Spokes

Kneeling Woman holds Calabash

(Bay, 1985, 13)

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 22

Same as Front Cover

(Bay, 1985, 40)

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 23

(Bay, 2008, 29)

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 24

(Bay, 1985, 30)

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 25

Ancestral Asen Chaya M. Krimmer 26

Ben Amos, Paula. Art, Innovation, and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Benin.

Hackett, Rosalind. Art and Religion in Africa. Continuum International Publishing

Rush, Dana. Contemporary Vodun Arts of Ouidah, Benin. African Arts