Club

Item number K4.216 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Club carved from one piece of dark brown wood, with a cylindrical shaft tapering to a rounded point at one end and a bulbous head at the other end.

History Of Use

These carved clubs (known as isiGila, Molamu, Thoka, Tinhonga, Nduku in Zulu, Maasai, Sotho, Tsonga, and Ndoni) are common in several communities throughout south and east Africa. The shape can be found in rock paintings in Lesotho, from approximately 200-300 years old. They have a wide variety of traditional uses: they can be used as a throwing club for hunting, or for self-defence. Their primary purpose, however, is ceremonial; they are used in ritual and cultural events. These clubs were restricted and banned at various points under colonial regimes but have persisted as a cultural symbol into the modern era.

Iconographic Meaning

Traditionally, these types of clubs represent masculinity. In Tsonga culture, they are used in the ritual Muchongolo dance, where they represent masculinity through their phallic shape. In Shona culture, where homosexuality has been historically viewed negatively, the word "tsvimbourne" is used as a derogatory term, meaning "one who does not possess a club."