Ceremonial Chewing Stick / Artist Unknown, African, Fante Peoples Ghana

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About this Item

Record Details

Accession Number
1987/1.270
Title
Ceremonial Chewing Stick
Artist Nationality
Ghanaian
Medium and Support
wood
Object Creation Date
1900-1925
Object Creation Place
Africa (continent)
Ghana (nation)
Creation Place 1
Africa (continent)
Creation Place 2
Ghana (nation)
Dimensions
55 cm x 3 cm x 3 cm (21 5/8 in. x 1 3/16 in. x 1 3/16 in.)
Primary Object Classification
Ritual Objects
Primary Object Type
carving
Physical Description
Wood stick with dark smooth patina; shows six registers or symbols carved into it, from top to bottom: closed fist; rifle; wisdom knot; powder keg; femake figure with hands covering breasts and genitals; paddle.
Subject Matter
A ceremonial rendering of an ordinary chewing stick used to clean teeth and gums; they were beautifully carved and important objects of display in Fante girls’ puberty rites. During the public phase of the ceremony, pubescent girls marched in front of onlookers, holding one end of the chewing stick their mouths. Ceremnial chewing sticks are icongraphically rich. Each one bears a different combination of symbols that refers broadly to the initiate’s transition to womanhood.
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
585 x 1351
File Size
49 KB
Record
1987/1.270
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1987-sl-1.270/1987_1.270.jpg

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Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1987-SL-1.270:1987_1.270.JPG

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"Ceremonial Chewing Stick; Artist Unknown, African, Fante Peoples Ghana." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1987-sl-1.270/1987_1.270.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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