Mambila Head Crest with an Ancestor

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Some 25,000 Mambila, farmers and stockbreeders, occupy the region bordering Cameroon and Nigeria, to the north of Grassland. They are organized into villages without a centralized hierarchical structure. The Mambila believe that ancestor spirits must intercede to secure the well-being of the living, who do not address to supreme being directly. They practice the ancestor cult that gives rise to sculptures in wood and terracotta. The Mambila are famous for the originality of their sculpture.

This head crest has several Mambila features:

- as many Mambila sculptures this crest has a "bumpy" hair style,

- it is guided by a dwarf figure, which we sometimes see as a free standing statue with arms raised to the chest level holding divination balls.

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