A new exhibition entitled On the road to the chiefdoms of Cameroon. From visible to invisible presents more than 200 works of historical and living heritage from the 16th century to the present day. Masks, fetishes, totems and thrones have been graciously lent by 24 communities in the highlands of the Grassfields in western Cameroon for display at the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris.
It is a first – and a source of pride for the kings of the chiefdoms of Cameroon – to present the art of their communities at the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris.
” The time has come to expose our artistic richness because there is this mystery that surrounds the traditional chiefdom in the Grassfield of Cameroon: visible and invisible art, communicating with spirits, talking with the invisible, it brings us back to pure and clean humanity, that’s our culture says King Zofoa of the Babungo chiefdom. He lent some of his kingdom’s most valuable items.
There is the throne which is exposed here and before that moved, there were traditional rites in order to appease these objects which must travel outside the chiefdom. So it’s a big family reunion of notables and everyone to decide that it can cross to come far here in France. And there are still all these rites and the whole community will be there to receive these objects when it will enter the community.
A living heritage
Invested with quasi-divine powers, these Cameroonian chiefs ensure respect for traditions and serve as a link between the world of the ancestors and the living.
” We have more than 240 works that come from Cameroon, including 200 that are still used by notables, traditional chiefs, queens, princes or by simple inhabitants », explains Sylvain Djache Nzefa, curator of the exhibition. “ These are works that tell a story and therefore for us, it was very important to present a living heritage and that there are no or very few showcases. »
A journey within a chiefdom and its mysteries
Eighteen thrones, but also headdresses and calabashes, masks, statues, fetishes and an elephant totem, a symbol of power and wisdom, sow the path of this exhibition designed as a journey within a chiefdom and its mysteries. .
“ All this is done through a traditional entrance composed of a roof with 9 pyramids symbolizing the council of notables “, details the commissioner. “ We have an architectural installation that shows the foundations of society through an axis that we call the axis of life that connects the living to the ancestors, to the sacred forest, the totemic forest, the forest that also allows for healing. Then he adds: And in the world of the invisible, you have these ancestors with whom we dialogue and who can materialize by a stone, by wood and the third part presents art at the service of secret societies which participate in the balance of power in the society. »
An immersive and captivating exhibition that reveals behind its visible part a world nourished by the invisible.