Club
date: label: Accession Date
content: 4 May 1900
name: label: Collector
content: Rev. William P. Dodson
label: Donor Name
content: Rev. William P. Dodson
notes: label: Notes
content: From cards: "Straight, round handle; head carved to represent a female head studded with (cut off)" "205403X Loaned to Renwick 2/4/82 Returned 1983 Baton, ca. 1880 Mbundu people; Angola brass tacks, wood 18 1/4 x 2 1/2 x 2 3/4 (46.3 x 6.4 x 7) NMNH 205403 Batons such as this one identify and protect chieftains among the Mbundu people. They are usually custom made for particular individuals, having been prescribed by diviners or soothsayers. To show his status and to ensure supernatural protection, a chief carries his baton when sitting in the village council, when visiting, and when welcoming guests. The motif of the young woman, seen here and on many carved batons, is thought to refer to the "guardian of the sacred fire," the girl who tends the fire that is lit for each new chief. She controls rainfall and fertility in her chief's domain and guards the insignia held by the successors of deceased leaders. The hairstyle with a loop in back is characteristic of traditional Mbundu women."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 5 Mar 2021
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Angola, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Mbundu (?)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 036436
label: USNM Number
content: E205403-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Baton