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Old 28th March 2012, 12:56 PM   #15
David R
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I think the orb and cross was originaly a Eastern Roman (Byzantine) symbol of Christs supremacy over earthly things, and then adopted elsewhere and reinterpreted as it spread.
I might be misremembering this but I think in the Sudan it is referred to as the "drum". There is quite a nice series of posts about these reinterpretations dotted about the kaskara and takouba threads.
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