African Elephant Mask Cameroon Bamileke African Elephant Beaded Elephant Mask

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African Elephant Mask Cameroon Bamileke African Elephant Beaded Elephant Mask :
$427.70

This is a old beautiful Beaded Bamileke Mask from Cameroon. Elephants are the world\'s most commanding land creatures, unsurpassed in grandeur and power. Thus while elephant masks, are rare in Africa, they are fully appropriate symbols of important leaders, their respected deputies or messengers. The societies that use these masks act as agents of chief\'s control and as formal emissaries. Elephant societies that originated in Bamileke and spread elsewhere in the Grasslands consist of three graded ranks attained by wealth. These elephant masks, signifying kingship and wealth, were worn by the powerful members of the Kuosi regulatory society, which included members of royalty, wealthy title holders, and ranking warriors of the Bandjoun kingdom of western Cameroon. The glass beads used on earlier masks were nineteenth-century trade beads of Venetian or Czechoslovakian manufacture, used as well in exchange for slaves. Elephant mask costumes were thus called \"things of money\" since their beads were both objects and symbols of wealth. Elephant masks comprise cloth panels and hoods woven from plantain fiber over raffia. On this background multicolored beads are stitched in geometric patterns. The basic form depicts salient features of the elephant like a long trunk and large ears. The hood fits tightly over the masker\'s head, and two hanging panels, one behind and one in front, partially conceal the body. The front panel is the elephant trunk, and the two large, stiff circles hinged to either side of the head are its ears, which flap as the masker dances. While the mask symbolizes an elephant, the face is human. Eye holes provide visibility, and a nose and mouth with teeth are normally present. Such masks are often worn with robes of dark woven fiber covered with small fiber knobs or indigo and white tie-dyed \"royal\" cloth. The robes contrast greatly with the maskers\' bright red legs, dyed with cam wood. Since a chief owns or controls the masking society, both leopards and elephants are apt metaphors for symbolic impersonation. Maskers dance barefoot in these colorful costumes to a drum and gong, moving slowly as they wave poles with blue and white beaded tips trimmed with horsehair. They whistle \"mysteriously and tunelessly,\" brandishing spears and horsetails. Maskers are later joined by chiefs and princesses, parading by an elaborate tent in which high-ranking men sit to observe. A masker hurls his horsetail to the chief, the crowd cheers, and the celebration continue with various feats performed primarily by younger maskers. When the festivities end, the favorites are rewarded with rewarded with kola nuts and wine. The beauty of these masks is largely in their colorful beaded patterns. Dark blue or red backgrounds provide foundations for basic geometric designs laid out in white, creating a striking contrast. As Tamara Northern indicates, the masks show varied degrees of order and complexity. Masks may be sparsely or densely beaded. The mask\'s lavish use of colored beads and cowrie shells displayed the wealth of the members of the Kuosi society; and its colors and patterns expressed the society\'s cosmic and political functions. Black denotes the relationship between the living and the dead. White refers to the ancestors and potent medicines. Red symbolizes life, women, and the institution of kingship. The dominant triangle designs on both masks represent leopard spots, the leopard being a royal symbol of power and mastery like the elephant. The members of the Kuosi regulatory society belonged to the royal court and enforced the laws of the kingdom in all spheres of life. The society gathered together during funeral ceremonies of its members and for public celebrations of kingship to display the Bandjoun kingdom\'s power and wealth. This is a beautiful and powerful Elephant Mask of fine quality and would be a fabulous addition to your collection.51\" tall x 7 1/2\" wide x 17 1/2\" ear to ear
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