Horn book, rectangular board with handle, half covered with Arabic script

This writing board holds the traces of old writing that has been partially washed off. The writing on this board was probably done with water soluble ink. Some Hausa/ Fulani allo boards would have been used to write special verses from the Qur’an in water soluble ink that were then washed off and the ink drunk by a patient as a protective medicine against illness or bad luck.

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

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