The French word récade, also used by English-speaking scholars, derives from the Portuguese recados. The term originally referred to the emblem carried to authenticate a messenger and his message. All récades are called by the Fon word makpo, the “staff of fury.” There is remarkable variation in the form of récades. Unlike most African ceremonial implements or weapons, the récade does not seem to be modelled on a single type of functional object. It may be an axe or an adze or not have a blade at all. It may be abstract or have realistic animal depictions on the blade or the shaft. The iconography of the récade, like asen, appliqué cloths and other types of Fon art, seems to refer to individuals, proverbs and visual puns on names and words.”
