Ceremonial Chewing Stick

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.