[246]Chie y Regalia and Insignia Calabashes, Fly Whisks, Dance Sta s, and Jewelry [266]Head Coverings and Bags [272]Musical Objects [290]Wooden and Clay Bowls and Receptacles [298]Clay Food Bowls [302]Drinking Horns [308]Other Regalia
[316]Architectural Sculpture
[332]The Grasslands and Their Surroundings [334]The Northern Regions [334]The Mambila [346]The Donga-Tigong Region (Mbembe, Mfunte, Kaka, Mbem) [358]The Cross River Region (Widekum, Anyang, Banyang, Ejagham, Boki) [359]The Widekum, the Anyang, and the Banyang [368]The Ejagham [376]The Boki and the Cameroon-Nigeria Border Area [380]The Woodlands (Bafo, Balong, Kundu/Bakundu, Bassa)
394Bibliography
THE VISUAL ARTS AND SOCIETY IN THE CAMEROONIAN GRASSLANDS
Bettina von Lintig and Peter A. Weis
As early as 1900, the term “Cameroonian Grasslands” began to be used to refer to the extensive savannah area of the volcanic plateau located in what are now the Northwest and West Provinces of Cameroon. The mountains in the southern Grasslands are up to 1,500 meters high, and may reach 3,000 meters in the northwest. This grassy plateau north and east of large forested areas is also called the Bamileke region, or the Grass elds in British Englishspeaking countries. The collective ethnic term “Bamileke” only became popular during the colonial period and subsequently developed into an identity designation. The history of this area was very complex, and it certainly had other names at other times and in other places. The term “Grasslands” has its origin with expedition travelers, merchants, and the German troops that began to take possession of the land and subdue its inhabitants toward the end of the nineteenth century. Before that, the area was very di cult to access from the coast, as it was shielded by mangroves, vast forests, hostile peoples, and other dangers [Pl. 1].
In contrast with the “sultry, humid, hot, stu y atmosphere [of the gloomy jungle]” (Ankermann 1910: 292) that prevails in the more southerly part of Cameroon, the Grasslands has a good climate. Late nineteenth-century German explorer Eugen Zintgra described the coastal region as an area of “partly impenetrable jungles in which the individual villages are connected by narrow paths, and the elds and plantations associated with them are scattered”; this area also includes the mangrove swamps, teeming with pathogens, which ourish along the shores (Zintgra 1892: 40). Mountains, hills, deep valleys, an abundance of water, meter-high elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum), fertile soils, and a “sunny, always breezy, refreshing mountain air” (Ankermann 1910: 292) are on the other hand all characteristic of the formerly heavily wooded volcanic hilly landscape of the Cameroon Grasslands, and conditions here are very unlike those in the coastal area’s dense forests. Bernhard Ankermann was the rst ethnologist to undertake a research trip to the Grasslands which, from a European perspective, was seen as a very attractive region [Pl. 2].
Centuries ago, a diverse, densely populated cultural area developed there. Well over a hundred small kingdoms, some of which cooperated closely with each other, were formed in the Grasslands, and their social structure was hierarchical. While some of them, either through wars of conquest or immigration from other areas, were able to add to their size and power considerably, others are best characterized as larger village alliances, even if they were often ruled by a “sacred king” (fon) as well. Countless trade routes crisscrossed the area, transporting people, ideas, goods, and art.
In the past, nearly two hundred languages with more or less common attributes existed in the region and neighboring areas. Many of these languages are still maintained and spoken, and many longstanding and developed traditions, ceremonies, festivals, and rituals that are deeply rooted in the culture live on as well. Parts of the traditional institutions and structures have survived intact to the present day.
Pl. 1. March through elephant grass in Cameroon, Défap CM.P.099-07261, photographer unknown, book author M. Mikolasek, 1910–1930.
Pl. 2. Grasslands landscape in the Babungo area, GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, image number PhMAF 2109, photographer Rudolf Oldenburg, 1907–1913.
Pl. 3. Woermann Company hulk on the Cameroon River, Bildarchiv der deutschen Kolonialgesellschaft, image number 028-3106-71, no date.
The Grasslands can be divided into three regions: the Northwest Province, the Bamileke and western Bangwa region, and the Bamum region.
Cameroon is often referred to as “Africa in miniature” and today covers an area of 475,000 square kilometers, about 1.3 times the size of Germany. It contains all of the continent’s ecosystems, from the tropical rainforest and mangroves on the Atlantic coast to the arid Sahel. Its narrow northern tip includes part of Lake Chad, and it has borders with Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria. Its highest point is Mount Cameroon, which is said to have been sighted by the Carthaginian navigator Hanno as early as 500 BC. Portuguese explorers, led by Fernando Po, were the rst Europeans to reach its coast in 1472, sailing into the mouth of the Wouri River to what is now Douala. Because of the abundance of crabs they found there, they named it Rios de Camaroes (River of Crabs), from which the country eventually derived its name. When the rst Europeans arrived, the indigenous peoples were more or less independent. They considered others, even their neighbors on their borders, to be foreigners. While relations between them were often adversarial, they were stimulating and productive in many cases as well (Jua 2008: 304). German trade relations with what subsequently became Cameroon existed as early as the mid-nineteenth century. The Hamburg trading company of C. Woermann established its rst outpost on the coast of the West African territory in 1868. The company was also an important player in directing Germany’s colonial policy, especially through the in uence of its leader, Adolph Woermann (1847–1911) [Pl. 3].
In any case, the social relations and boundaries between the various groups inhabiting this country were never and could never have been static and unchanging. Outside interventions played a signi cant role in this. After the transatlantic slave trade—in which the chiefs on the coast were also involved to some extent as middlemen—had been abolished, the London Baptist Missionary Society founded a Christian colony in Victoria (today Limbe) for freed slaves who came from Jamaica, Ghana, and Liberia, as well as for native converts. European trade with this area now shifted to natural resources such as ivory, palm oil, cocoa, and rubber, which reached the coast from the interior. The missionaries had already been pressing without success for Victoria to be declared a British crown colony. Instead, in 1884, Germany claimed the other important port, Douala, and the coastal area around the mouth of the Wouri River, and declared Cameroon a German colony. Victoria, its sea access and its fertile surroundings, initially remained under British administration. It was not until 1886 that Great Britain exchanged its claim to African territories in Cameroon with Germany for theirs in South Africa and Nigeria. Until 1915, Victoria, its bay and the area around Mount Cameroon, were under German administration. Around the same time (1886), Swiss Presbyterian missionaries bought their land in Victoria from the English Baptists. While the coastal area of Cameroon had long been exposed to transatlantic in uence, the conditions in the so-called “hinterlands” further inland were quite di erent. Population movements had come to the existing Grasslands culture areas as a result of interventions from the northern interior, through Muslim Fulbe and Hausa traders, for example. During the nineteenth century, several peoples of the northern part of Cameroon were conquered by invading Muslim groups (Fulani, Mandara, Bornu). The Fulani (Fulbe) in particular founded several states following their holy wars, including Ngaoundere, Rei Bouba, Maroua, Garoua, Banyo, and Tibati.
GRASSLANDS POWER FIGURES AND AMULETS
The dignitaries of the Ku’n’gan society were often soothsayers and spirit healers. Their paraphernalia included small anthropomorphic gures that were believed to have magical powers.
The small power gures had di erent names depending on the region. In Bandjoun, for example, they were called mu’po, in Bafang they were pupueuh, in Bangante they were meu-boun (Perrois/Marchal 1993: 128–29 and 152–53), and among the western Bangwa they were known as njoo, although they used the term lekat to refer to the larger “fetishes” through which supernatural powers could be activated. In museum catalogues or in the art trade, it is the Bandjoun name mu’po that has come to prevail for these extraordinary small objects, and we will also use it here. In neighboring regions of the Grasslands, comparable gures with similar purposes are known; among these are the impressive little mu’po gures of the Bafo/Kundu, which are presented in the Woodlands section further on. These small icons also functioned as amulets, and they were supposed to protect their wearers against all kinds of evil; they were considered an emblem of membership in the Ku’n’gan society as well. They accompanied its members in their rituals, and were generally supposed to ensure their safety. Some of the magic gures were also tools with curative powers in the hands of spiritual healers. A carved gure could in such cases symbolically embody the sick person and alleviate his or her suffering from a distance.
The mu’po were thus used in the Grasslands in rituals and in the Ku’n’gan masquerade performances. They also served as a medium for the diviners, who used them to bridge the gap between the living and the ancestors, and between the past and the future. The diviners could thus obtain a double view of the past and future (Harter 1986: 268). Some were convinced that they could also ward o evil spirits, dangers, and witches, solve crimes, or bring about a sickness (such as ascites or “water belly”) as a means of punishment.
They were attached to the belt or to a bag for protection in wars, and were supposed to contribute to success in such endeavors. The mu’po
gures often have a large round belly. Interpretations of this suggest that they can help with a desire to have children and enable pregnant women to give birth without complications. In general they are supposed to promote fertility, good harvests, and prosperity (cf. Harter 1986: 269).
The mu’po icons are rarely larger than fteen or twenty centimeters. However, Homberger (2008: 207, #101 at 90.5 cm) points out that there are also gures that, despite their size, can still be called mu’po if the Ku’n’gan association uses them in divination rituals. There is no unanimous opinion among researchers on the exact functions of the gures, but they are believed in a general way by those who use them to have the power to make the dream of overcoming human limitations a reality.
The various gestures and poses of the gures’ hands and arms, which can be rendered in all kinds of positions, are interesting and associated with many di erent interpretations. For instance, hands grasping the chin symbolize dignity, wisdom, or contemplation. A large distended belly can be a symbol of prosperity, a desire to have children, or even as a sign of an illness like ascites.
Some gures have openings in their bodies that were lled with magical substances. These gures were carefully consecrated by the ritual specialist and often rubbed with magic medicines or pastes, and this often produced a crusty sacri cial patina. However, mu’po may also have a smooth, shiny patina indicating use that can result from long years of handling or prolonged contact with clothing or other materials.
Paul Gebauer observed that even in the 1930s, the elders regarded these gures with great respect and also made sacri ces to them. Their former signi cance gradually waned and disappeared, especially among younger people (Gebauer 1979: 327, #M29–M36).
The artistic qualities and power they display make the mu’po a genre of their own for collectors of Cameroonian art.
Add: Harter 1986: 263 ., #298–301; Fagg 1970: 46–49, #33–38; Perrois/ Marchal 1993: 148, #149 and pp. 152–54, #153–55.
Magic mu’po gure, detail (see Fig. 7, page 59).
17. Ritual post with a human gure holding a head, Bangwa, nineteenth century, wood, 121 cm
A human gure with a forty-three-centimeter-high horned head stands atop this sta . The horns are only fragmentary. The expressive, grim face bares its pointed teeth aggressively. With both hands extended out in front of it, the gure holds a human head with a frightened look on it.
Gustav Conrau, the collector of the sta , was the rst European to visit the mountainous region of the Bangwa territory between 1898 and 1899 and made a blood pact with the highest ranking chief of a group of remote chiefdoms. Blood friendship had a special value here. In addition to recruiting labor for the plantations, Conrau was also tasked with nding ethnological pieces for the Königliche Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin. In the course of his stay in the region, he acquired exceptional sculptures, some of which are now considered among the greatest known works of African art, including the famous Bangwa Queen (which also achieved notoriety for the very high price it ultimately achieved) (cf. von Lintig 2017) or the ne but somewhat less-well-known Twin Father gure, now on display at the Humboldt Forum, and many other beautiful and expressive objects, masks, and ancestor and magic gures.
In 1899, Conrau sent the assistant director of the Museum für Völkerkunde, Felix von Luschan, a report on his expedition to the Bangwa region. His letter included ve sketches of his recently acquired pieces. One of those is a drawing of this lefem post, which appears as object number four in his accompanying list.
It is highly probable that this work has a connection with the sculptors’ workshop of famed carver Ateu Atsa. It was sold at auction at Sotheby’s in Paris, and the published text in the catalogue reads: “In 1990, Pierre Harter, relying in particular on two statues collected by Conrau, identi ed [. . .] the hand of one of the most remarkable Bangwa artists of the nineteenth century: Ateu Atsa. This post, which shows the gure of a king (fon) holding a mask, is recognizably linked by its style, iconography, and faceted surface to the corpus of works Harter attributed to the hand of Ateu Atsa, which is now more generally understood to be the workshop of Ateu Atsa. It was among the regalia objects of the ‘gong society,’ and like all lefem statues, was associated with the veneration of the royal ancestors. During ceremonial gatherings, these gural posts were placed at the entrance of the path that led to the sacred forest in order to prevent unauthorized access during a gathering” (translation of the French auction text for lot 68, Sotheby’s, Paris, December 10, 2014). The head of the wild-looking man with his more lightly colored rimmed eyes makes a dramatic impression. He is holding a trophy head. The object ought perhaps to have been a warning to the overly con dent Conrau.
Add: Acquired in situ by Gustav Conrau (1865–1899) in 1898–1899; Königliches Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin, 1899, Ident. No. III C 10544; Arthur Speyer II (1894–1958), Berlin, circa 1920; Charles Ratton, Paris, late 1920s; Potter Museum, Bramber, Brighton, then Arundel until 2003, permanent collection 1930–2003 (Sussex, UK); Bonham’s, London, September 24, 2003, lot 489; Sotheby’s, Paris, December 10, 2014, lot 68; Binoche et Giquello, Paris, June 29, 2021, lot 86; published among other places in: Brincard/Geary 2009: 11, #6, sketch by Gustav Conrau 1899; von Lintig 2015: 131, #2, and p. 135, #13–15; von Lintig 2016: 32–33, #2a and 2b; von Lintig 2017: 111, #35.
Fig.
commemorative gure
The sculpture is striking for its tense dynamic design. The undoubtedly very pregnant woman holds her wide bulging belly with her hands, and one has the impression that she is balancing her sitting posture with her bent legs.
The taut, protruding breasts could indicate that this is her rst child.
The conical cap with spiral bulges is an indication of high position. Only particularly high-ranking women, such as perhaps queens who were expecting or had already given birth to the rst child of a king, were allowed to wear such caps.
The wide-open mouth appears to be crying out in pain. The gure’s posture also suggests that birth is imminent. It is conceivable that the magic gure was also used by the healer as a tool to ensure a problem-free birth or that it served as a commemorative statuette. We believe that it is unlikely that it was a mu’po, but feel that that possibility cannot be completely excluded. The gure is reminiscent of the Bangwa Queen, an iconic work of Grasslands art, on account of the twisted posture of its body, its bent legs, the arms, the slightly upturned head, and the similar cap (cf. Homberger 2008: 160–61).
This commemorative gure depicts a chief holding a drinking horn in his right hand (see introductory text on drinking horns, p. 302). His left hand rests on his abdomen. He wears a cap-like head covering, a loincloth, and a cloth over his shoulders. The gure may once have been completely covered with kaolin, since traces of it are still apparent in places.
Fig. 23. Small
of a chief, Grasslands, wood, height 23 cm
Fig. 22. Sculpture of a pregnant woman, Bangwa, wood, height 20.5 cm
24. Two commemorative gures of a couple,
We also do not classify this pair of small gures as mu’po. The reasons are that the male holds calabashes in both hands and that the eyes do not have the typical shape of those of the mu’po. Both gures are in a slightly crouched posture. The woman holds her arms crossed over her rounded belly. The head and facial expressions of both gures are similar. It is obvious that the small gures with a ne encrusted patina are the work of a single artist’s hand.
25. Janus gure with insignia, Bamileke, wood, height 21 cm
The gures stand back to back and are held together by a braided rope. The slightly smaller gure holds its arms and hands to the shoulders, and its right leg is missing. The other gure holds its arms to its sides with its hands on its protruding belly and is adorned with a necklace. Both gures wear a circular cap.
Fig.
Fig.
Bamileke, height 18 cm and 16.5 cm
Fig. 31. Royal ancestor commemorative gure with two heads, Bamileke, wood, height 105 cm
This male gure in the collection is rendered seated on a stool and has a heavily encrusted black-brown patina. The lower head and the Janus head above it could symbolize wisdom, prudence, and power; the faces have heart-shaped depressions. Strong noses are placed between apparently closed eyes. The lips, especially those of the lower head, protrude considerably. Teeth are visible in the open mouths.
The left hand is held to the chin in typical “thinker” fashion. This gesture is often observed on male Grasslands gures. The right hand rests on the outwardly curved thigh, and the elegant legs extend down to the base.
A small oval plate on the head with a cowrie shell plug probably seals in magical substances beneath it.
This commemorative gure is not wearing any clothing. However, a necklace, bracelets, and the knobbed cap all attest to its high rank. When a new king or chief was enthroned, he had a portrait gure made of himself during the rst years of his reign. Among the Bangwa, these gures were called lefem. When deaths occurred, memorial gures were made to commemorate the deceased. An e gy of this kind could, however, represent a king (fon) on certain occasions in his lifetime and act as a substitute for him (Harter 1990: 70). The gures did not directly con rm the legitimacy and continuity of a lineage of rulers. Only the skull of a predecessor could do that. The gures were nonetheless a vital part of the ancestor cult.
That this male statue with two superimposed heads, the upper one a Janus head, should actually have originated in the Bangwa region (as documented in its provenance) can nonetheless be doubted, because representations of this kind have not otherwise been known in the Bangwa iconographic repertoire. It would seem more likely that it has its origins in the upper parts of the Bamilekeregion. Cameroonian scholar Jean-Paul Notué (1993: 158) refers to the context of the meaning of two heads in concealed night masks, and suggests they represent the one who knows all, who sees everything, and who punishes evil and rewards good.
The post gure with the two superimposed heads, now displayed in the Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac’s Africa permanent exhibit, cannot be associated with our gure. This is because it was sawn out of a column of the Bali-Nyonga palace, possibly by mistake, when this building was rebuilt and renovated. The sculptor had recreated the design di erently, and the skull over the head of one gure had originally been at the feet of another (Harter 1986: 226, #259, and 227, #261).
Fig. 55. Headdress mask with two leopards (fé), Bamileke (probably Dschang), ra a splints, jute, cotton, wool felt, beads, cowries, c. 1880–1914, height 104 cm (with cape), length 108 cm (with longer tail)
Leopard masks are extremely rare (see Harter 1986: 51). The Bamileke fé mask has triangular beadwork designs, which are iconographic representations of the spotted fur of the leopard, and are thus clear indications that the two quadrupeds are indeed leopards. The leopard is an embodiment of the king, who himself is often referred to as a leopard. Even the highest dignitaries were not allowed to own any objects resembling leopards without express permission.
Our two leopards have a horizontally elongated body and a long, drooping tail. The tapered head is dominated by a large, wide-open mouth. The ears are horseshoe-shaped with dark red fabric edges. The legs support the body and head; they are probably all stu ed with pressed straw (banana leaves). The white beads, which dominate practically all fé attachments, create an e ective contrast to the dark blue and anthracite background (cf. Northern 1975: 22).
The leopards’ paws are connected to a at “disk” with a dark red ber edge, which forms the top end of the cylindrical cap. The upper and lower sides of this disk are embroidered with white, light blue, red, and green seed beads with triangular patterns that form rosettes, among other shapes. The diamond- and zigzag-shaped patterns are also interpreted in the literature as permutations of triangles. A cape made of nely woven jute is attached to the headdress, which is decorated with yellow beads arranged in S-shaped patterns around its circumference. The front with an opening and the upper edge of this cape are decorated with cowries. Only a few such capes have survived.
What is called “mask” does not correspond at all to our European notion of an object used to hide the face or the head, but to a full disguise of an individual. A picture by the geographer Thorbecke illustrates this well; it shows a Njah masked procession in front of the palace of Foumban, watched not only by locals but also by colonials in bright tropical suits.
However, here the dancers wear bu alo and bird costumes (cf. Harter 1986: 29, #12 with a photo from Thorbecke 1915). The Kuosi “Elephant Federation” is an association of the Bamileke groups.
A good photo by Anna Wurmann, taken in 1916, shows wearers of elephant masks in Foumban; the photographer mentioned that they traveled from Bamessi in the Bamileke region for a festival [cf. Pl. 25].
The fé headdress and the large headdresses with parrot feathers were worn by members of the royal family at special dances of the Kuosi/Kwo’si society or to represent an absent king at funeral ceremonies.
The Kuosi (as is so often the case, the name varies in di erent Bamileke kingdoms) was a group with a warlike vocation, mainly concerned with nancing the army in the event of con ict. It included all the most comfortable and noble members of the chiefdom (see Harter1986: 18). Two separate Kuosi are usually considered: that of the princes and that of the other villagers. The association still exists today but has undergone a change in function and meaning (see also in the introductory text about the Kuosi/Kwo’si, p. 37). Dances with fé and elephant masks (nzeu) were among the most spectacular in the region. The leopards sway from side to side with subtle movements during a dance.
Add: Comparable object with two leopards: Linden Museum, Stuttgart, Inv. 43.084, illus. in Northern 1975: 49, #22, and in Homberger 2008: 190–91, #78–79. For other examples of fé attachments with a leopard, see Northern 1975: 37 and 49–54; for another mask (Dschang) with a leopard and with practically identical beadwork, see Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Inv. 174145 with illus. in Northern 1984: 162, #95, and AHDRC 0008870; in rare cases, the fé leopard attachment was combined with a tukum elephant mask (see #713), like the example in the Field Museum; Harter 1986: 123, #153 with another fé mask.
Fig. 105. Headdress mask with Janus heads, Kom (?), wood, height 33 cm, width 25 cm, length 30 cm
Determining this piece’s place of origin is not easy. New York gallery owner Michael Oliver, well-known to collectors, attributes the old Janus mask to the Kom. The heads do indeed exhibit stylistic features characteristic of the Northwest Province. On the other hand, Janus masks are atypical for this region. One explanation could be that the mask found its way to the Bekom area as a result of intensive commercial relations, the active trade in masks, or the exchange of reciprocal gifts with neighboring groups that routinely took place. It is also conceivable that the Janus mask motif was appropriated by a Bekom carver who then carved the faces in the conventional style. It is also not uncommon for carvers to work at di erent courts and produce objects there like this Janus mask, which did not conform to the usual stylistic canons of the chiefdom that was hosting them. Perrois and Notué (see “Add” below) depict a Janus mask of the Bamesso(about six to ten kilometers east of Mbouda in the northern Bamileke region) [cf. Pl. 9, 11/H), which is essentially similar to our example. It is also not typical for the Bamileke. Janus masks occur more commonly in areas further to the west and southwest (Bangwa, Banyang, Anyang, and Widekum).
Add: Perrois/Notué 1995: 147, #60ab, Bamesso, Bamileke; see a night mask in the “typical Bekom style,” collected by Harter in the Bangwa Highlands, which was danced in Northwest Province (1986: 220–21, #253).
CHIEFLY REGALIA AND INSIGNIA CALABASHES, FLY WHISKS, DANCE STAFFS, AND JEWELRY
In this chapter, various utilitarian, art, and sacred objects will be presented. The speci c design of these objects often varied according to status, rights, rituals, and traditions. The availability of craftsmen and artists to make them, and the status of relations often also played a determining role.
There were wine containers and calabashes in all of the treasure chambers of the Grasslands. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, only kings and sometimes chiefs were allowed to own beaded calabashes. In the kingdom of Bamum, this prerogative of exclusivity was abolished in the 1920s by Sultan Njoya. Such bead-covered vessels were also regarded as expressions of wealth and power. At special festivities, they were publicly displayed by chiefs’ wives or courtiers, or used for certain rituals or commemorative ceremonies for deceased kings [Pl. 45]. Harter (1986: 126) points out that originally relics like fragments of ancient eroded skulls from royal tombs were kept in the beaded calabashes; however, in 1951 he found them all empty. Calabashes with long “necks” were made of several gourd shells pushed into each other and were therefore not watertight and could not be used to store palm wine. At receptions, the wives sitting behind
the king held the calabashes, magni cently framed by a ne lattice of colored glass beads, on their shoulders or in front of their chests. Thus, according to Harter, calabashes ful lled a purely ritualistic and symbolic function [Pl. 45].
Fly whisks made up of a wooden or ivory handle with animal hair attached to it were used to drive away small ying insects. In the Grasslands, they could be a symbol of sovereignty or even of rulership, depending on their composition. Here again, the possession of beaded whisks was originally the exclusive prerogative of the king and/or high-ranking nobles.
Dance wands are still in use today at Grasslands festivals. In literature, they are sometimes referred to as y whisks, as a palace servant would also use them to lightly fan the dignitary or to drive away insects. The dance wands that were referred to in the older German literature as Tanzpeitschen (dance whips) were usually much larger and were used in masquerade dances. They were a symbol of power and merit. Originally, they were war trophies taken from horses killed in battles against mounted invading groups in the Grasslands, such as the Fulbe or the Chamba. The severed horse’s tail was attached below the handle. Kuosi or Nekangdancers sometimes threw these dance wands at selected spectators whom they wanted to honor. The latter had to pick them up immediately, kiss them, and return them to the dancer (cf. Harter 1986: 130). Dance wands, according to Harter (1992: 16), were royal attributes: each ruler possessed several of them. He could authorize certain dignitaries or warriors to use them as long as the wand was not used by more than three individuals.
The Kuosi dancers were dressed in vests or shirts of red imitation felt decorated with beads and cowries, or they wore short uniform jackets, as was documented in photographs taken around 1900. They had indigo loincloths with bright graphic patterns (Ndop) around their waists. Wearing these opulent garments, each participant moved with slow, mysterious, undulating motions, spinning in circles while swinging the dance wand (Harter 1992: 16).
Jewelry was worn not only by women but by practically all high-ranking people of both sexes. Among the Mambila on the edge of the
Pl. 44. Palm wine bearer, Défap CM.P.FGB-FB033, photographer Anna Rein-Wuhrmann 1911–1915.
Grasslands, the men decorated which plate is correct? until the 1940s, while the women, according to Gebauer (1979: 39–40), made no e ort to adorn themselves, “preferring the simplicity of their natural charms, nothing more or less.”
Neck rings, necklaces, bracelets, and bangles made of bronze or brass were long reserved for use exclusively by notables. Sultan Njoya in Bamum also lifted these restrictions in his sultanate toward the end of his reign. Even today, necklaces of chevron beads are prized by local rulers, and they are sometimes arranged in combination with leopard teeth. The unusually large and rare chevron beads have always been, and still are, held in especially high esteem.
The forms y whisks and dancewands are both used in the broader literature.
Fig. 203 (top left). Atlas bowl with caryatid gure, Northwest Province, wood, height 28 cm
Bowls that are carried by human gures were reserved for use by only the highest-ranking individuals. According to Harter, such small atlas bowls like this were manufactured primarily in the Wum-Banso area. They were probably used to hold red camwood powder.
The bowl has a border with three bands of incisions all around it and four semicircles below them, in which notches form small diamonds. The gure is sitting in a bent posture on a small bench. The head, the arms held upward at right angles, and the huge hands with long ngers hold the bowl. The horizontal thighs are extremely elongated, and the short vertical knees and wide legs stand on the open ring. The gure is naked, but its sex is not recognizable.
Among the few known atlas bowls, Harter mentions an example from the Wum in the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin (Ident. Nr. III C 24.067), which displays similarities with ours. The same is true for the Atlas caryatid in the Metz collection (ibid., p. 75, #83).
Another Banso atlas bowl is described by Harter as a “veritable masterpiece” (1986: color g. XVI, p. 198). The patterns on the bowl are worked in the same style, and this example also has extremely elongated thighs and a forward-leaning posture. Its average height of about 27.5 centimeters is identical with that of our bowl. The elbows and the strongly elongated hands are also disproportionately large. According to Harter, the masterful artistic execution of this Banso bowl is also displayed in its attentive, concentrated face, the successful distribution of its body volumes, and its beautiful structural composition. The skull is attened, the face projects forward, the thighs are splayed and in slight external rotation, the back is slightly convex, especially in the lumbar region, the hands are enlarged, and the gure’s arms appear to bend under the weight it carries. All of these attributes also apply to our gure, so it can be assumed that both of these objects are the creations of the same artist.
Add: Harter 1986: 74–75, #83, and pp. 179, 198, # XVI; EMB Ident. Nr. III C 24.067; a similar bowl in the Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Fungom, nineteenth century, height 23 cm, with Han Coray collection provenance, ill. in AHDRC 0008968 (probably the same carver); for an essentially identical Bameta “eating bowl,” see Germann: 1911, #2 and #10; Northern 1984: 110, #35; Perrois 1993: 200–01.
Fig. 204 (top right). Bowl with various decorations, Babanki-Tungo [Pl. 9, 7-8H], wood, height 26 cm
The base is carved in two rows of staggered leopards. The use of the leopard motif is an indication that the bowl was intended for the king, members of the Kwifon,or high-ranking nobles. There is a sacred double gong between two of the leopards in the lower row, which establishes a reference to Kwifon. The bowl itself is decorated with the iconographically signi cant “chicken intestine” design and in one place with the frog or python snake symbol, which is only indistinctly recognizable due to wear and repeated rubbing with camwood powder. Such bowls were used to hold camwood products, kola nuts, or other foodstu s. The patina on this pedestal bowl suggests that it contained camwood paste. The camwood was pulverized, then made into a paste with oil or water, and applied to the bodies of chiefs, widows of kings, nobles, or objects during ceremonies.
Add: Exhibited in San Francisco, USA, Tribal and Textile Arts Show, Fort Mason Center, Festival Pavilion, February 13 through 15, 2009; Ginzberg 2000: 60; Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, African Art from Dallas Collections, July 26 through September 4, no year, #174 and #175.
Fig. 205 (bottom left). Caryatid bowl, Bamileke, circa 1900, wood, colored pigments, height 22.5 cm, length 32 cm
The elliptically shaped bowl is carried by a leopard, whose upward pointing tail runs into one of the bowl’s extremities. The openwork base echoes the oval shape of the shell.
Add: Collector Alfred Klinkmüller (1912–77); for similar bowls cf. AHDRC 0009032 (Josef Müller, 1887–1977); AHDRC 0009036 (Franklin Collection) and EMB III C 25406, AHDRC 0009055.
Fig. 206 (bottom right). Bowl for red camwood powder with leopard caryatid, Bamileke/Bangwa, wood, 26 cm
This red camwood (or sandalwood) bowl is carried by a leopard; there are traces of encrusted camwood powder in various places. A erce-looking leopard with bared teeth carries the slightly trough-shaped bowl. Geometric friezes decorate the rim of the bowl and the ring on which the leopard stands with bent legs. The carving’s iconography, its elaborate decoration, and the artist’s sculptural eloquence indicate that it was undoubtedly made for use by the royal upper class.
Add: See Brain/Pollock 1971: 43, #13, food bowl with leopard for Bangwa gong society festivals.
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Distributed in Italy and Switzerland by Messaggerie Libri S.p.A. Distributed by ACC Art Books (UK, USA) throughout the world, excluding Italy.
Printed on Sappi Magno Satin 170 gr paper and bound in Italy in July 2024 by Tecnostampa –Pigini Group Printing Division Loreto – Trevi for 5 Continents Editions
Front and backcover image: Ku’n’gan, Bamileke region, fertility gure, 1920, wood, height 95 cm
