Figural superstructure of an "ikoro" drum
Description
wood, sacrificial traces on the back
This figure once adorned an imposing “ikoro” slit drum.
These monumental drums, which could be more than three metres long, were regarded as the voice of the community and once played an important role as a means of communication. The Mbembe were often at war with the neighbouring Calabars and had to defend themselves against attack by the coastal peoples, who raided them in search of slaves from the 16th century onwards. The sound of the “ikoro” could be heard more than ten kilometres away to warn them of attacks or to call on the men to prove themselves in battle. According to Kamer, the bleeding heads of dead enemies would be placed on the drums and no one could set eyes on the great “ikoro” drum unless he had himself made an offering of a head.
The few surviving examples show that the same drum could be framed by a male and a female figure. Such figures were first presented to the public in 1974 by Hélène Kamer in her exhibition “Ancêtres M’Bembé” in Paris. She showed a series of eleven representations, maternities and threatening warriors holding in their hands the heads of their enemies (see AHDRC 0000717).