Dignitary staff "mwala" · D. R. Congo, Bakongo · ID: 3038468
Adam Prout, Worcestershire, Great Britain
Description
light brown wood, partyl shiny brown patina, the upper third carved with three figures, min. dam., cracks, slight traces of abrasion;
the founding myths of the Kongo peoples state that nine staffs “mwala” of the nine original clans were needed to rule. The chief’s staff “mwala” was a conduit of communication and a symbol of legitimacy that linked the ancestors with the living. Linked with the earth, it often has a sharp iron tip to be planted in the ground.
The object Dignitary staff “mwala” with the object ID 3038468 was last part of the auction 79th Tribal Art Auction at March 21, 2015 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 375.
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Comparing literature
Cooksey, Susan et. al., Kongo across the waters, Gainesville 2013, p. 114, ill. 2.15