Divination bird image ·  Cameroon, Mambila · ID: 3038403

Description

wood, remains of black paint, red and white pigment, cord with french coin, minor missing parts (right wing), strong abrasion of paint, metal base;
diviners kept collections of this images in their groves for use in divination practices: the diviner and his client would sit beneath the swaying birds to ascertain by their gentle movements the will and the way of the ancestors.

Comparing literature

Gebauer, Paul, Art of Cameroon, New York 1979, P 36 f.