[1] On the society's annual feast day or walking day, usually in spring, the members would hold a parade around the village, with the officers or sometimes all the members carrying poles or staves between four and eight feet (1.2 to 2.4 meters) in length and usually painted.
[2] Some poles (also known as rods, wands or 'club sticks') were headed by garlands of flowers,[3] while in the West Country, the poles were commonly headed by a brass finial with a distinctive shape and decorated with ribbons.
[5] Other symbols include clasped hands or two figures shaking hands indicating friendship and community,[9] religious symbols such as anchors or the Agnus Dei,[10] and horseshoes.
There are few records of the dances themselves, but some from Somerset, and from Stourton Caundle and Fifehead Magdalen in Dorset, have been found.
[6] Some modern-day Morris dance groups have revived stave dancing, for example 'Somerset Morris' based near Bristol,[13] and the 'Mendip Stave Dancers' from Oakhill in Somerset.