Gods, Saints and Trickster

Krishna, the Blue Boy as Lover

Rābi'a of Basra, Mystic Lover of Allah

Sikh Marriage Hymns of Divine Union

The theme of love, and its redemptive power and capacity to bring human beings to maturity, is found in the myths, lives of the saints and rituals that animate many cultures throughout the world. The Hindu god Krishna was a playful lover sporting with the Gopis (young women who cared for the cows). Rābi'a, a Sufi mystic and saint of Baghdad, opened to the love of God and was restored from a life of dereliction. In the Sikh marriage ceremony the love of bride and groom is wrapped in the divine love that brings liberation in the midst of service.

Mask for Gelede Masquerade

Before 1886. Yoruba. Wood. Nigeria. British Museum:
Ethno 1887.2-3.1. 
H: 56 cm.