Band 11

The leaping leopard on the tusk's eleventh band may represent the Oba's power over evil. Like the leopard, king of the wilderness, the Oba is a powerful ruler. He rules fairly, but he overcomes wrongdoers as swiftly as the leopard pounces on its prey. The leopard, which represents the Oba's stern sense of justice, is tempered by the images of mudfish on the back of the tusk. Some types of mudfish are fat and delicious; others are dangerous. These two probably refer to the Oba's association with the god Olokun, who controls all riches, beauty and fertility from his realm under the sea.

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