Wum or Fungom region, Northwest Province, Cameroon
Coastal West Africa
Helmet Mask (Mambu)
INV-2590
Wum or Fungom region, Northwest Province, Cameroon
Coastal West AfricaEarly/mid–20th century
Helmet Mask (Mambu)
Wum or Fungom region, Northwest Province, Cameroon Coastal West Africa →Coastal West AfricaArts of Africacameroon grassfieldsafrican Artmaskswood
Date
Early/mid–20th century
Medium
Wood and pigment
Dimensions
35.6 × 28 × 21 cm (14 × 11 × 8 1/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
African and Amerindian Art Purchase Fund
n Cameroon’s Northwest Province, all-male regulatory associations called Kwifon are in charge of social control and law enforcement and use masquerades to seek the guidance of supernatural forces. This mask, with its bulging cheeks and eyes and striated hairstyle, represents mambu. Dressed with a feather costume, this character precedes the arrival of more powerful and fearsome masks during burials and funerary celebrations of important association members.
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