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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;2manybooks, post: 889944, member: 8267&quot;]Olokun, god of the sea in west Africa, is associated with wealth and trade and therefore associated with the Oba, the King of Benin. The double fish tails can be an attribute of Olokun, and also of Mami Wata, a female water divinity. The specific double-tailed mermaid imagery seems to be derived from decorated objects brought to west Africa by Portuguese traders beginning in the late 15th century. (Henry John Drewel: Mami Wata - Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diaspora. African Arts, Vol. 41:No.2, 2008.)</p><p>Mami Wata takes the form of La Sirene in Haitian Vodoun, usually depicted with only one tail.</p><p>Obas wear highly elaborate costume, weighed down with coral beads, as portrayed in this wooden plaque.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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