Bamum (Bamoum, Bamoun, Banun, Mom, Mum), Cameroon

Royal bell. The Grassland region, in southwest Cameroon, is divided into 90 small independent kingdoms and chiefdoms, whose powers are counterbalanced by male and female societies. All young boys belong to associations based on age classes, covering periods of five years each, focusing on military and technical apprenticeship. The most important Cameroon grasslands kingdom in the east is Bamum. The Bamum people are numbering some 80,000. The art of Cameroon is in a great part the art of a royal court that had a complex protocol and numerous rituals, and that exerts powerful influence upon the development of the plastic art in general. This bell is intended for some palace ceremonies. The sound is produced by metal “earrings’.

Material:  African bronze

Size:   11”x 5”x 5”

Price:  $285+$16 (S&H)                                                            [S0G1B757]