Mambila - 200610 - Old Tribal used African Passport Mambila Headmask - Cameroon. - Verkocht

Tribal used African african headdress mask from the Mambila, Cameroon.

This type of mask is used in initiation ceremonies.

Hand carved from a single piece of wood, with color pigments.

Height: 30 cm.

The 25,000 Mambila, farmers and stockbreeders, occupy the region bordering Cameroon and Nigeria, to the north of Grassland. Land, every family’s property, is distributed by the group’s chief. The primary cereal crops include sorghum, rice, and millet. They also grow bananas, yams, maize, manioc, peppers, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and tobacco. They acquired the practice of milking cattle from the Fulani and also use manure from the cattle as fertilizer. Goats, chickens, dogs, and sheep are raised for meat. Some hunting and fishing is done, but neither contribute significantly to the daily economy. Labor is divided between men and women, and children begin to work at the age of twelve. A society of mutual assistance, the kurum, participates in clearing land, harvesting, and building houses and facilitates social contacts during celebrations and dances. The men are in charge of weaving cotton, metal- and woodworking, and braiding fiber. Merchants and blacksmiths are separated from the rest of the community. The trade is passed from father to son. They practice the ancestor cult and agrarian rites. The Mambila only worshipped family ancestors. According to their beliefs, at one’s death the ancestors take away the soul of the deceased during the night. The chiefs of the lineage were buried in granaries, for they are representative of prosperity and life, just as the grains of millet.