In the first scene of the novel, Zélie graduates from Mama Agba’s secret self-defense school by performing well in a fight and standing up for her fellow divîners when the tax collectors arrive. As a token of her graduation, she receives a collapsible staff. Zélie studies it and describes:

Ancient symbols coat every meter of the black metal, each carving reminiscent of a lesson Mama Agba once taught. Like a bee to honey, my eyes find the akofena first, the crossed blades, the swords of war. Strength cannot always roar, she said that day. Valor does not always shine (19).

The staff carries the lessons that Zélie has learned while being educated in self-defense, serving as a reminder of her home, her culture, what she has been taught, and what she must overcome.

In addition to Zélie’s education and heritage, the staff represents her ability to protect herself. Before the awakening of her powers, the staff is the only thing she has to keep soldiers from harming her, and its collapsible design enables her to do so without drawing attention to herself. It grants her autonomy before the restoration of her magical abilities, and when she loses those abilities later in the book it helps her maintain a way of protecting herself.