Today there was a great surprise for me in my mailbox. My first, and real, written and stamped card from Cameroon. How cool and unique is this?? I don't often get African cards, much less, written and stamped from there. Thank you very much Eric.
On the card there's a Bamileke dancer performing a funeral dance with an elephant mask.
The Bamileke are a Grassfields ethnic group. They make up one of the largest ethnic groups in Cameroon and are natives of the country's West. The Bamileke are subdivided into 106 groupings in the West region led by a King or fon.
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Masquerades are an integral part of Bamileke culture and expression. Colorful, beaded masks are donned at special events such as funerals, important palace festivals and other royal ceremonies.
The power of a Bamileke king, called a Fon, is often represented by the elephant, buffalo and leopard. Oral traditions proclaim that the Fon may transform into either an elephant or leopard whenever he chooses. An elephant mask, called a mbap mteng has protruding circular ears, a human like face, and decorative panels on the front and back that hang down to the knees and are covered overall in beautiful geometric beadwork, including much triangular imagery.
Beadwork, shells, bronze and other precious embellishments on masks elevate the mask's status. . in: wikipedia
The power of a Bamileke king, called a Fon, is often represented by the elephant, buffalo and leopard. Oral traditions proclaim that the Fon may transform into either an elephant or leopard whenever he chooses. An elephant mask, called a mbap mteng has protruding circular ears, a human like face, and decorative panels on the front and back that hang down to the knees and are covered overall in beautiful geometric beadwork, including much triangular imagery.
Beadwork, shells, bronze and other precious embellishments on masks elevate the mask's status. . in: wikipedia
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