Show voodoo collection for museum washington from rum the hie interior of nigeria original home of tile the voodoo cult the national museum has received a large collection of native implements ts and articles of magic presented by 0 0 roberts of Ni maiden alden mass an oil operator who has built up an extensive business in tills this little known country the section of africa where native culture has reached its highest levels hitherto hits has been in american collections tile the most conspicuous objects tire ire the fright some wooden masks used by the native ma gillans gl gi clans these are elaborately carved heads of animals and grotesque human faces employed in the rain making and fertility rites all show a highly developed artistic ability they are used in the weird metamorphosis ceremonies in which men are supposed to change themselves into totem animals the collection also contains many examples of the famous benin brass work the hauser negro tribe it wits explained apparently progressed dt dl erectly from copper to iron without going through the bronze era which has been common to other civilizations their extremely artistic iron statuary has hag been one or of the wonders of the anthropological world ulie the use of brass was introduced hy by tile the portuguese during tile the early explorations of 0 the west est african coast among the objects Is a model of a safari in brass with the king being carried through a jungle in a hammock carried by ills his subjects and with a retinue of attendants each little figure Is modeled to life in brass there are also brass models of hunting scenes instead of preserving records of notable events in drawing or painting as did tile the primitive euro the nigerian system Is to model it in brass this collection it was pointed out ts Is of special interest since a great majority of the natives brought out of africa in slave trade days came from tills this part of the country although they may have been brought originally front from somewhere else by the negro slave traders that the artistic ability of the peo pie has declined little since ancient times la is shown by tile the apotheosis of tile the tin can in two samples collected by mr air roberts cigarette tins lined neatly with leather and fur become objects of considerable value aue with little likeness to their original state among the objects of cultural interest are pottery stoves with grate firelan and oven ovea formed out of the same lump of clay |