What is the origin of the Wood Badge award?

In June 1888 Baden-Powell (BP) lead a British force tasked with capturing Dinzulu, a Zulu King who had been leading raids. In the process BP acquired his "iziQu" which was a large necklace made of wooden beads. It was the practice of the Zulu's to award beads to warriors for brave acts which were worn as necklaces and bracelets. The iziQu belonged to the Zulu kings, was handed down through the generations and was considered sacred.

In 1919 BP started the Wood Badge program for training adult leaders and used the wooden beads from Dinzulu's iziQu to fashion the award, wooden beads on a leather thong, that is still used today.

The origin of the beads is in dispute. Baden Powell first stated that the necklace was left behind as Dinzulu (who BP never captured) escaped in haste. Later, embarrassed by the notion that the award was based on stolen war spoils, the lore was changed to suggest Dinzulu gave the necklace to BP. One biographer, Tim Jeal, has questioned the whole story saying it is more likely that the origin of the necklace was a dead African girl.