Rare couple of terracotta ancestor figures · Cameroon, Mambila, Donga Valley · ID: 3039163
Karl-Ferdinand Schädler, Munich, Germany
Jakob Deller, Munich, Germany
Description
brown coating, remains of red and white pigment, cord, feathers, stocky bodies with voluminous breasts and neckless large heads, prominent genitalia, holes for insertion of magical substances, slightly dam., minor missing parts, rest., plate;
less is known about the use of earthenware figures of the Mambila. Similar power figures were placed in palm gardens during wine-making, although we do not know for certain whether they were used as a protection against theft or to help ensure that the wine fermented properly. Because of the special accentuation of the sexual characteristics and the navel a usage in context with fertility rites would be thinkable.
Comparing literature
Grootaers, Jan-Lodewijk & Ineke Eisenburger (ed.), Forms of Wonderment, Vol. I, Berg en Dal 2002, p. 303