Glossary · Term
Calabash
A calabash is a gourd dried and hollowed out for use as a container. In the Oyo Empire, the council of state, the Oyo Mesi, could reject an Alaafin by presenting him with an empty calabash, a symbol that obliged him to commit ritual suicide. The mechanism was intended to prevent tyranny but was later open to abuse.
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- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Calabash. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/calabash
- MLA
- “Calabash.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/calabash. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Calabash.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/calabash.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Calabash’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/calabash (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻