A male figure, probably an Oba, surmounts this remarkable staff. His hands are placed reverently over his chest between two scrolls covering his breast, which are connected to a thick...
A male figure, probably an Oba, surmounts this remarkable staff. His hands are placed reverently over his chest between two scrolls covering his breast, which are connected to a thick neck collar. He wears a peaked textured cap, his mouth is open as if about to speak, his eyes are bulbous and surrounded by rings. Large scrolls ornament the Oba's back, three in a triangle configuration at waist level, and four at the shoulder area having a distinct appearance of male genitals. His navel is composed of concentric circles symbolic of the cosmic force of nature and regeneration. The theme of fertility and ancestry is graphically depicted in the curved, phallic shape extending from the upper portion of the staff, crowned by a snake-like head with a triangular shape on top the head and double scrolls at the neck. The shaft itself is a series of twenty-seven nearly identical heads representing ancestral figures. These heads symbolize the Oba's ancestors whom the king honors and also dominates as the living ruler; carrying on the noble line as he carries his staff of authority.