Ox yoke South India

This Ox Yoke is from the south of India. A yoke is a wooden beam normally used between a pair of oxen of other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do. This item also is a symbol with different meanings. In some ancient cultures it was traditional to force a vanquished enemy to pass beneath a symbolic yoke of spears or swords. The yokemay be a metaphor for something oppressive or burdensome. The metaphor can also refer tothe state of being linked or chained together by contract or marriage, like a pair of oxen.