Walking stick/ staff
A carved stave of high status that was once used by an Nguni chief. According to L.A.D. Montague’s 1921 “Weapons and Implements of Savage Races” pp.142-3, this type of stave acted as a sceptre which indicated that the owner was a chief. A longer ceremonial example was noted by the author as being in use for ceremonial occasions (he references the Amatola Mountains. According to Montague, in his understanding of Gaika culture, snakes were reverenced and sometimes embodied the spirit of an ancestor but he was uncertain if this could account for the snake carvings on this staff.
Maximum length = 1320mm.
Maximum length = 1320mm.
Object Summary
- Accession Loan No.
- 119/1937/62
- Collection Class
- Arms and armour
- Collection Area Region
- S
- Material
- hard wood
- Common Name
- walking stick/ staff
- Simple Name
- staff
- Production County
- KwaZulu/Natal
- Production Country
- South Africa
- Production Year High
- 1937
