Asojano (diety of infectious disease) anklet made of a dressed skin with burlap sewn on the outer side with a buckle attached to the skin. The anklet is decorated with white shells, surrounded by red beads, with an occassional black bead, sewn to the burlap. The anklet was commissioned by Michael Mason from Pedro Abreu, a well known priest in Cuba, for a temporary exhibit "Rhythms of Identity", at the Smithsonian Latino Center in 2000. It was on exhibit to document the Santeria practices specific to the Arará culture in Cuba. From an interview with Michael Mason:"There's also medicine in the base of all brooms and whisks. Inside this vessel there is a secret which is medicine inside cement then 7 shells and a single coral stone at the peak. This is a common way of dealing with medicine because the cement sucks moisture. There's an herbal medicine that it sucks in and sacrificial blood. I don't know what Pedro puts in his secret, he's never told me."
