Africa, Western Grassfields, Bamileke (modern Cameroon, West Province) Elephant Mask (mbap mteng) 1950-1997 Cotton fabric,

multicolored glass beads 104.2 cm x 57 cm (41 in. x 22 7/16 in.) Gift of Dr. James and Vivian Curtis, 1997/1.319 Background: Cameroon Modern Cameroon is a former colony of Germany, who signed a treaty in 1884 with two kings of Douala, one of the indigenous peoples that lived along the coast. Although no other ethnic groups were represented, the treaty bound the entire region to Germany as a colony and a protectorate. Before the treaty was signed, Germany had developed rubber, cocoa and oil plantations in the 1830s, and the region was subject to numerous visits from European traders. Because contact with Europeans was both lengthy and complicated by internal issues (Muslim Fulani peoples invaded and displaced a number of groups from the late 17th through the early 19th centuries), cultural change took place over a period of roughly 150 years. After World War I, Cameroon was divided into French Cameroun and British Cameroon; the territories were forged into a single nation via popular vote in 1961. A presidential quasi-democracy with multiple parties, political power is wielded primarily by President Paul Biya, who has been in office since 1982. Background: Bamileke The Bamileke (pronounced bah-mee-LAY-kay) migrated to their current location sometime between the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century. Fulani Muslims from the north invaded the Bamileke territory, pushing them south and west. Currently, they reside roughly in the north-center part of the West Province of Cameroon, with Bamun, Bali, Kom and Babanki peoples as neighbors. Collectively, they are part of an area known as the Grasslands. The majority practice ancestor worship-based religions.

Item description and use Outside, the entire mask is covered with beads, mostly green, attached to cotton damask. The beads are arranged in either scalloplike or starlike patterns. Atop the head are knoblike objects made of a corklike material covered with black cloth. The top portion of this mask fits over the head the red circles toward the top are the eye holes. The rest of the mask drapes over the front and back of the wearer. This very long mask is meant to be worn with a robe, often just as lavishly decorated. The chief of the Bamileke (more a name for a group of villages than an actual people or region) is called a fon, and his chiefdom is called, appropriately, a fondom. The dance performed with this mask, the Kuosi celebration, was performed every other year as a display of the fondoms wealth. The elephant is a symbol of fonship, power and wealth, and therefore the mask confers these attributes to its wearer. Some literature exists that ascribes the spots to a leopard pattern, another symbol of fonship. The dancers themselves who wore this particular style of mask belonged to the Kuosi society, whose membership was limited to members of the royal family and high-status individuals, often warriors, wealthy landowners or royalty. The entrance fee was a leopard skin. Beaded objects may be owned by anyone, but the amount of beads determines both the importance of the object and the status of the owner. While most objects have a few beads, elaborately beaded objects like this mask are the sole property of the royalty. They are considered luxury items, and vast trading networks were established as early as the 19th century to trade them, along with cowrie shells. Real or not? It is believed that this object was produced for the tourist market. Its late date of manufacture (1950-1997), its non-traditional cotton material and the near-inability to find art objects of the 20th century in culturally appropriate settings almost certainly prove its status as a tourist item. European and American collectors have fueled a tourist art market, demanding certain objects over others regardless of the historical context of the object. However, the craftspeople designing (and selling) these objects are often the Bamileke themselves. Art in the Bamileke culture is focused on ritual or purpose, as opposed to art for arts sake; therefore, most objects are utilitarian in nature. Beads are often used to emphasize an objects importance, as they are imported and usually of Czech origin, although Venetian beads were used in the earliest objects. These tourist market items continue to maintain this focus on imported materials, but there is a marked lack of artistic development as a result. After the beginning of the 20th century almost all indigenous art was suppressed or claimed by others. That which has survived does so under artificial or vastly different conditions from their original context, usually in museums or as part of large private

collections. Under the influence of missionaries and the desires of collectors, native arts were disposed of or altered to meet new demands on time or resources. Secret societies, once the heart of many cultures including the Bamileke, lost much of their importance, and as a result the artwork associated with these societies in most cases either ceased to be produced or was made on a lesser scale. Much of the meanings attached to these objects have also been lost. About the Artist The creator of this work was of a lower social class than those who would have worn this mask. While this masks artist is unknown, there are some celebrated Bamileke artists who are respected for the intensity of their work. Often, however, in Bamileke society it is considered far more important to remember the owner of a mask than its artist. Resources Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign http://www.spurlock.uiuc.edu/collections/artifact/elephantmask.html - their elephant mask, with a small description. University of Virginia Art Museum http://www.virginia.edu/artmuseum/VirtualExhibitions/african/elephant2.html - lesson plan for younger students based on Bamileke mask. Smith College Museum of Art http://www.smith.edu/artmuseum/exhibitions/africanbeadedart/field_masquerade1.htm description of mask, plus some discussion of symbolism. See also http://www.smith.edu/artmuseum/exhibitions/africanbeadedart/bamum_bamileke_camero on.htm, from the same exhibition. Dallas Museum of Art http://66.195.106.23/teacherpackets/teachingpackets/TP/ArtfSubSahara/Artwork/SSElHa t.htm - another lessons plan, this one more about imagination than object information. Paul Kengmo (Baobab International) http://www.kengmo.com/mp3/kengmo_conversation.mp3 - a free download of West Cameroonian (Bamileke region) music. Malaquais, Dominique. A Robe Fit for a King, Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University, Vol. 58, No. 1/2 (1999), pg. 17-37. While focused primarily on a feathered robe, there is a wealth of information on trade, beads and individual artists. University of Iowa - http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Bamileke.html - A quick factbook about the Bamileke people.