Linguists in the tribes of Ghana

At the Detroit Institute of Arts today, I was very happy to find exactly what I was looking for. The artifact in the case is called a linguist staff, shown with a large reproduction of a 1979 photo of a group of Akan royal linguists from Ghana (above). Each one is holding his linguist staff. These linguist staffs are around 6 feet tall and topped with a gold-leaf or silver-leaf covered wood carving representing a proverb that characterizes the man who carries the staff.

Before going to the museum, I was reading about the linguists of Ghana, who represent the tribal leaders and speak for them. I originally heard of these high tribal officials in the documentation of an artwork by artist Osei Bonsu in the University of Michigan Museum of Art. Looking for information on the web, I found the website of the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA). It includes a fascinating explanation of tribal linguists and their function by Prof. Ablade Glover, College of Arts Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana). He writes:

"It is the linguist who puts the chief's whispers into poetic and eloquent language. He is not only a mo[u]th-piece as he is wrongly described today but rather and ambassador and a very useful and prominent courtier. Indeed a chief's fame, to a great extend, depends upon the wisdom and eloquence of his linguist."

Prof. Ablade Glover also gives a list of the proverbs that are found on linguist staffs. I think the staff in the DIA (above) represents the proverb "A HEN STEPPING OVER HER CHICKS: A hen steps on her chicks not to hurt them but to prevent them from being trampled upon by some one else which might be harmful."

The art work in the University museum (at right) represents the proverb: "A HAND HOLDING AN EGG: Power is like an egg, when held too tightly it might break, or falls and breaks when held loosely. A successful ruler must be both firm and sympathetic." This carving is not on a linguist staff, but the documentation refers to a staff in the Houston museum with the same theme.

I found this all so fascinating that I wrote to Arnold Zwicky, an author at my favorite blog, Language Log, and he posted a link to Prof. Ablade Glover's page here: Staff linguist.