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.