Ȯkyeame poma (royal spokeperson’s staff) with stool, chain, and crossed swords

Visual motifs in Asante court art often reference specific proverbs, riddles, or poems from the corpus of Akan oral literature. Epitomizing this verbal-visual nexus are wooden staffs wrapped in gold leaf that are carried by members of the royal entourage. Such individuals are highly trained in using indirect, metaphorical speech to facilitate sensitive communications between parties. Sometimes referred to as linguists, they act as diplomatic intermediaries on behalf of the leader. A spider in its web atop one staff represents Ananse—the mythic arachnid credited with bringing proverbs to the Akan. At the summit of the other, a chain binds a stool and swords, symbolizing the unity of the Joint Provincial Council of Chiefs, a domestic governing body established during British colonial rule.