“On the road to the chiefdoms of Cameroon”, this exhibition which “shakes up the codes”

Before becoming the title of this exceptional exhibition at the Quai Branly museum in Paris, The Route of the chiefdoms is first and foremost an initiative launched in 2006 to enhance the heritage, make visible and strengthen the cultural identity of these communities in Cameroon. The charter of the same name, since signed by some fifty chiefdoms in Cameroon, also aims to set up “heritage huts”, community museums, within the chiefdoms. Boxes where objects and works of art are both deposited to show them to the public, but also made available for ceremonies and rituals. A concept designed in a spirit of openness and intercultural dialogue where the Museum of Civilizations of Cameroon (MDC) in Dschang, created in 2010, figures as the epicenter of this Route des Chefferies which brings together a network of 27 museums in the Cameroonian regions concerned. .

RFI : On the road to the chiefdoms of Cameroon is not an exhibition like the others, because it is about objects and works of art still used in the daily life of the chiefdoms in Cameroon. What is special about this project for you? ?

Rachel Mariembe : This exhibition shakes up the codes, because we are in an immersive presentation where we did not target the French or European public first, but we targeted the Cameroonian diaspora, so that they can feel in their leadership. All the decor was prefabricated in Cameroon and then assembled here. We also brought in a Cameroonian artist, Banana Fashion, to set up some sets. Here, in the first part of the exhibition, there are frescoes made by a young Cameroonian artist who has reinterpreted the symbols of this cultural richness.

Here, the visitor finds himself on the road to the chiefdoms in Cameroon. What is a chiefdom ?

Chieftaincy should not be understood only in terms of the space where the chiefdom is located. A chiefdom is the equivalent of a kingdom. It’s a whole set of villages that can follow the administrative contours – or not. There are chiefdoms that refer to districts, to municipalities, but others do not. We also have a categorization of chiefdoms in first, second and third degree. This is purely administrative. Sometimes we have chiefdoms which are not classified, but which have the power to enthrone the chief of the first degree. In Cameroon, we have kingdoms, regardless of what may be administrative. They are primarily kingdoms, but representing an entire community and a well-defined territory, with a community that identifies with their cultural assets.

What power does the head of a chieftaincy in Cameroon have today? ?

Already, the chief is an auxiliary of the administration and the guarantor of the traditions. He does not rule alone. Around the leader you have the Council of Nine (mkmavu) notables or the Council of Seven (Mkam Sombuech) notable. They are instances of social regulation that work to maintain, perpetuate and legitimize the power of the chief. The chief is supposed to be above everyone, his entire community, to be the wisest, the one who represents and communicates with the ancestors, to be the religious authority…

What role do the objects and works of art presented here play in Cameroonian society ?

Personally, I often struggle to call them works of art. They are cultural property. A magnificent work of art is not necessarily symbolic for the community. What is important for the community is the function, the role, the symbolism of the object or the work that is important for the community. All the works in this exhibition are goods that are used for religious, ritual and ceremonial purposes. So they are alive. We still use them today and it took negotiations, cultural diplomacy, for the communities to accept that the works could participate in this exhibition. Some were “unloaded” in a ceremony so that they could be seen by everyone without any repercussions.

Or take the costumes. All Cameroonians know when a costume should be worn and for what occasion. Or the elephant mask from the poster. In Cameroon, everyone knows that it comes from the Grassfields region and that it is used by members of secret societies or at funerals. As for the ndop fabric, it is an identity, royal fabric, also characteristic of the Grassfields. For example, to represent Cameroon on the outside, Olympic teams wear ndop cloth, or toghu cloth from the English-speaking part of Cameroon.

The exhibition often evokes secret societies. Is the art of chiefdoms only accessible for initiates ?

Secret societies are organs of social regulation. They represent the economic, political and cultural cogs on which the king relies to govern. These companies have an invisible part, practices that are done out of sight. But when this part is over and when you are far from the ancestors, you can move on to the visible part, for example with heritage dances. Through these works, we talk about these secret societies.

What is the meaning of the cloth you wear today on your head ?

I wear it, because I was given the title of Mafu. I was honored by a chef with regard to my activities in favor of the promotion of heritage. With this title, I was given permission to wear this fabric. I have a whole royal cloth outfit, the ndop. But today, for the presentation of this exhibition, I cannot wear it. For official occasions in the presence of chiefs, I can just wear a single item to show that I belong to this category of ennobled women. Occasionally [de mon anoblissement], twelve heads of kingdoms were present and there is one who gave me power by ponytail, others put their hands on my head. For that, it is a royal fabric.

There is a whole room where you display thrones that are still in use. What is the difference between a throne of a chiefdom in Cameroon and a throne of a king in France, Belgium or elsewhere in Europe ?

The throne of chiefs in Cameroon is always carved and bears motifs, anthropomorphic or zoomorphic representations. For example, the elephant is a royal animal, because we equate the power of a king with the elephant, which is both enormous, but also very gentle. You have to know how to tame it. And the king, symbolized by the elephant, has the obligation to tame his population and vice versa. There is also the panther, a royal animal by its ferocity, because the king must be fierce and firm when he makes a decision. All this is found on the thrones of kings in Cameroon. Thrones in Europe? I dare not compare…

In the chiefdoms in Cameroon, why does the woman represent the unity of the cosmogony ?

It is the woman who holds the kingdom, because the woman appeases the anger of the king. His wife ensures sustainability, continuity. With us, we say: the king is dead, long live the king! When a king dies, we look for the one who replaces him. Afterwards, he goes to initiation and he will always be accompanied by a woman. There are four women who take turns while the king is being initiated. And it is only when one of them has given birth to a child that the king can be presented to the whole community as king, because he is manly and the kingship will not have a split. Among the symbols, you have circles symbolizing continuity. It is the woman who allows this continuity. She also has the obligation to educate the children. And she represents the chefs for certain occasions. It is the woman, and she alone, who holds the keys to certain memorial or religious places.

Many pieces in the exhibition come from Cameroon, others come from the collection of the Quai Branly museum in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron launched in 2017 a process allowing the restitution of certain works of African art to African countries. And among the 70,000 pieces held by the Quai Branly museum, Cameroon comes second after Chad in the country of origin of these works. You are a teacher-researcher at the Institute of Fine Arts of the University of Douala, but also head of the “Heritage and museology” department. What is your point of view on this issue of restitution ?

My point of view is that of the Route des Chefferies which is also the point of view of professionals, because the question of restitution is analyzed at the cultural, societal and political level. We, at the Route des Chefferies, are working to prepare the ground to welcome a restitution. But we cannot replace the decision-making bodies, because the decision is up to the Cameroonian State to request restitution. It shouldn’t be that when these works return, that their life stops. They must be part of a dynamic that already exists. For this, in the meantime, we train, we educate, we create heritage huts. There are communities that have lost their soul because the works are gone. Today they are looking for them. So, it is already necessary to identify where the works are before knowing what it is possible to do.

So currently you are creating “ heritage huts », these community museums within the chiefdoms, to facilitate the return of the works. Do you also participate in the selection of the works to be returned ?

The works that are gone, sometimes we don’t know them. But there is work in progress everywhere on the provenance of the works. For example, I work a lot with the Germans on this issue. But we have to see and identify the works. As I have the reading keys and knowing the Grassfields, when I look at the collections, I am able to say: that’s cultural, that’s a craft object. When it’s religious or cultural, something has to be done, because the user community is looking, and doesn’t even know where it is. It is first necessary to identify, to find the origins, to carry out research… before seeing at the state level.

► On the road to chiefdoms in Cameroon. From visible to invisible, at the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac museum, from April 5 to July 17, 2022.