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This carved staff would have been used in ceremonies or dances. Ritual dances were an essential component to several pre-colonial African cultures. Ceremonies and dances would be used in not only religious observances, where staffs and wooden weapons would help the dancer connect with the spiritual world, but they were also used, particularly in South Africa, as a way to help prevent large scale violence with two clans were preparing to go to war. Elaborately carved staffs and staffs created from specific materials would act as prestige signals, indicating the social status, wealth, and power of the individual.
In the Zulu tribe, staffs that were carved to resemble spears or other weapons were used to emphasize the power of the king over the life and death of his people.
