Standing male figure
Description
wood, brown encrusted soot patina, faceless head with pointed chin, min. dam., cracks, slight traces of abrasion;
the Kaka are a small ethnic group of around 18000 people, living in the western Cameroon, along the Donga River and are related to their southern Tikar neighbours, with whom they share certain customs. The present figure is an ancestor effigy, for ancestor veneration has a place of prime importance for them. It is supervised by “wantop”, one of the members of the chieftains counsel, within the framework of the liturgies of the “mbir” male secret society. Through the great Kaka works, we can see one of the centers of the great African expressionist movement that extends from the Bénué to the Cameroonian Grassfield.