Talking Stick

When my daughter returned from Kenya this summer she brought me a special gift of a talking stick. She wanted me to have a gift with meaning. The Masai tribe is a highly organized society, strongly patriarchal in nature, with elder men sometimes joined by retired elders, deciding most major matters for each Masai group.

The chief held the symbolic stick which gave him the power to speak without interruption. When the stick was handed to another he had the floor and respect of the others and was able to speak. This small stick gave order to the gathering. The chief traditionally held the stick to show his authority much the same way our First Nations people wear headdresses.

When my daughter wished to get one of these sticks it was given because she told them that I was once a chief (Mayor) in our land. The stick is hand crafted about 18 inches (45 cms) long. It is bound with decorative fine beadwork. The tiny beads have been the mainstay of the Masai women for centuries to show their identity and position in society through body ornaments and body painting. It is curious that in the 1800's the beads that had been made for centuries from raw materials (clay, seeds, horn) were replaced with opaque glass ones from Europe.

Would it ever be wonderful if our governing bodies had a similar system where respect would be shown to speakers in a similar manner. I treasure this gift and will produce from now on at family gatherings when the rhetoric becomes heated. We can learn much from cultures where good manners are valued and rules maintained by traditions kept for their true value.