Pende
Orator’s Staff (Muhango)
Pende, 1900-1932
Scroll
Pende
Orator’s Staff (Muhango)
Pende, 1900-1932
Physical Qualities
Wood, brass tack, 42 11/16 x 1 3/4 x 2 9/16 in. (108.5 x 4.5 x 6.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Anonymous Gift
Object Number
1995.152
A Pende orator’s staff was collectively owned by a clan but remained in the possession of their appointed orator. During the early 20th century, orators’ staffs played a role in settling serious judicial disputes between clans. The orator wielded the staff, often gesturing and “dancing” with it to punctuate his arguments, metaphorically gaining ancestral support while pleading his family’s case. The serene expression and idealized beauty of the female figure on the staff connote ancestral wisdom, while her firm pose with arms tight against the body and knees bent suggests the alertness and assertiveness required during debate.
Hand Held: Personal Arts from Africa
L. de Sousberghe. L'Art Pende (Brussels: Academie Royale de Belgique, 1959): pp. 97-107; figs. 149-204.
Z. S. Strother. Pende: Visions of Africa Series (Milan: 5 Continents Press, 2008): 37-40; pl. 31, 32.
Z. S. Strother. Pende: Visions of Africa Series (Milan: 5 Continents Press, 2008): 37-40; pl. 31, 32.
Inscribed: Orange sticker, '564'
