wood, reddish brown shiny patina with traces of black paint, arranged bilateral: the lower area carved with human head and twining snake, the upper part with flat mask face and club-shaped top, slightly dam., cracks, paint rubbed off, metal base;
staffs have many functions. Called ceremonial-, title-, ritual- or chief's staff, they were, and in many areas still are, a status symbol, a distinguishing mark or a tool, used by a wide range of ritual specialists, such as headman, female leaders of lineages or associations, diviners, healers, exorcists, and witch hunters in a variety of ways.
H: 104 cm
Provenance:
Ralf Schulte-Bahrenberg, Duisburg, Germany
Published in:
Schulte-Bahrenberg, Ralf (Hg.), Tansania, Glaube, Kult und Geisterwelt, Stuttgart 2007, p. 110, ill. 1
Continent: Africa

See description