Senufo masquerade insignia staffs have an important role in Senufo masquerades: When the principle masquerader wears a mask with strong male features, such as the Poro society kunugba’a helmet mask, a secondary masquerader carries the insignia staff with him, serving as a guardian to protect the principle masquerader from evil spirits. While the sculpture at the top of the … [Read more...] about Insignia Staff with a Seated Female Figure: Researched by Jordan Seyer
Luba staffs of office serve as records and memory devices for the elite of the Luba culture. When each staff is created, the top and the shaft are left undecorated, as blank canvases to be carved and incised later with specific types of heads, bodies, and headdresses, as well as meaningful symbols and other imagery. Together, these motifs symbolize a specific story with clear … [Read more...] about Luba Staffs of Office: Researched by Jordan Seyer
This staff illustrates how the Luba and the Songye are closely related cultures that often borrowed ideas from one another. The facial features of the heads identify this staff as Songye, but both of these cultures made staffs with what are known as Janus images. The name Janus derives from its resemblance to the Roman deity that is depicted with two connected heads, each … [Read more...] about Six-Headed, Janus-Style Memory Staff: Researched by Jordan Seyer
This staff is difficult to identify because of its simplified and streamlined, contemporary, cane-like form. The face depicted at the top, however, has the distinctive eyes and projecting chin typical of the Chokwe culture sculptures. Like many other staffs from Central Africa, Chokwe staffs of office were used to document the status and lineage of the owner. In addition, … [Read more...] about Contemporary Chokwe Cane: Researched by Jordan Seyer