Staff of Office (kibango), Luba, late 1700s-early 1800s (wood)

Acquired in the field by British missionary Frederick Stanley Arnot in 1888, this staff was one of the Luba king’s most important royal attributes. At the time of his investiture, the king grasped the staff when he swore his oath of office. Sanctified by a ritual specialist and enhanced with medicinal substances, the staff possessed supernatural qualities and was endowed with healing power. When "read" like a sculptural map from top to bottom, the staff also served to narrate the life and family history of a particular leader.  The female figures on the staff’s middle portion may represent founders of specific royal lines. Such imagery on male emblems points to the political and religious importance of women in Luba society.