- Byeri (reliquary figure)
- Fang peoples, modern day Cameroon
- 19th to 20th century
- wood
Fang Peoples
- communion with ancestral dead, important ritual
- southern Cameroon to Ogowe Valley
- “ekuma” headdress by Fang warriors
- ancestral remains box
- “nsek-byeri” portable shrine
- cylinder containing family skulls and bones
- most important family members
- skull was literal headcount
- consulted for advice
- ritual involved removing bones and animal blood sacrifice
- skulls were smeared with blood
- covered to prevent gaze of women and young males
- wood carving is less respected than skulls
Byeri Reliquary
- inserted into lid of box
- byeri acts as a tool to direct the energy of the dead
- sat in the sleeping room to make energy available to living
- come in full figures and just heads
- sanction benevolence
- used as puppets in theatrical initiation of males
- “ekuma” headdress
- smooth dark surface
- achieved through rubbing palm oil
- knee pose allows to sit on “nsek-byeri”
- metal inserts into eye sockets
- infantile almond-shaped eyes
- balance between young and ancestor
- southern style
- high domed forehead
- jutting chin
- elongated nose
Themes
- opposites in balance
- newborns with dead ancestors
- exaggerated and subtle facial features
- baby head and developed body