Bead necklace dedicated to the Afro-Brazilian deity Exu

Bead necklace with black and red flat, cylindrical porcelain beads, alternating seven of each color.‖ The necklace is dedicated to the orixa Exu, the West African deity who mediates between (orixas) deities and people. Later, in Afro-American religions, such as umbanda and candomblé in Brazil, he became associated with the Western devil. Exu however is the messenger of the gods, without whom nothing can happen. He serves as a guardian, and is the personification of anger and temper. He is often presented as a troublemaker and sometimes identified with the devil, partly because he wears horns. During rituals, he is the first to be sacrificed in order to appease him, so that he does not disturb the ceremony. His day is Monday, his color black-red, and his most common attribute a trident.‖ In the Afro-Brazilian religions of umbanda and candomblé, necklaces like this one are indispensable. The colour of the necklace indicates the deity ('orixa'), to whom the necklace is dedicated. The necklaces are considered to signify the special protection of the deity in question and have an amulet-like character.‖ All orixas and spirits have their own type of necklaces: the orixas usually have strings of glass or porcelain beads, except Omulu who wears raffia strings with cowrie shells. The "Pretos Velhosos" (the Old Blacks, a group of ancestral spirits) wear necklaces of iron wire adorned with fruits and amulets and the "Caboclos" (Native American guardian spirits) wear cords of animal teeth. \All such necklaces, regardless of material, have a special power and are consecrated with tobacco smoke. However, ordination for priestly and medium necklaces is done with sacrificial blood and specially prepared cleansing fluids. \Even ordinary believers in umbilical and candomblé often wear strings of glass beads under their clothing as amulets for protection (Figge, 1973: 109-110).