BY HANS-JOACHIM KOLOSS HANS JOACHIM KOLOSS (Photography) (1938 - 2013)
FORMERLY MUSEUM FÜR VÖLKERKUNDE WALKCONDE MUSEUM
In a province in northwestern Cameroon, the king and celebrities took part in a ceremony in front of the Oku Royal Palace. Photo by Hans-Joachim Colossus
Anywhere in the steppe of Cameroon, the palace is not only the largest and most important building, but also the political and religious center of the kingdom. Part of Oku's palace – including 50 houses – belonged to the king, another part to his wife, and the third part to the Kwifon complex. Kwifon was a powerful secret society that, together with the kings, formed a traditional government in the past. Pictured here is the most important building where the king received his guests, its columns are decorated with human and animal figures, however, they have no religious or magical significance, they "only" show the unique and illustrious status of the king. The building is the last example of the famous royal architecture of the Cameroonian steppe. Today, almost all the palaces in the area are made of brick and have zinc roofs. The same goes for the other houses in the Oku Palace.
The late King Oku and some of his famous personalities were in front of his palace
The importance of the palaces is reflected in the pillars with human and animal figures – they symbolize outstanding royal power. In fact, the king was the leader and "father" of the tribe, and only he had the right to sacrifice to the royal ancestors, who were also the ancestors of the entire kingdom, and he was the nominal leader of all the secret societies. Although he had many additional privileges and rights, he still relied on Kwifon, an important member of this powerful secret society who was the head of about 100 large families. In this sense, Kwifon represents not only the people, but even the people themselves, and only when the king and Kwifon unite in peace and cooperation can the land prosper.
Late King of Wimble Province, northwestern Cameroon
Although the king wore Muslim clothes and although he was the nominal leader of the Muslim and Christian churches, traditional beliefs in God and ancestors remained. The same is true of ancient royal emblems, such as leopard skin and ivory, objects decorated with animal and human figures and beads, including the gourd in this photograph, which is also a privilege unique to the king. The most important thing is the royal stool, because they were rubbed by the king with special drugs when he was on the throne, so ordinary people could not touch them, even dangerously.
Enthronement ceremony of the late King Kinabor II of Cameroon in the northwestern province of Cameroon
The famous "Xylophone Dance" was celebrated in Kom from 10 to 11 January 1976, when Kinabor II appeared before his people as their king for the first time since he ascended the throne a year earlier. In addition to some special masks, the most important objects of sacrifice in the dance are the three figures representing the king, the queen's mother and the king's first wife, symbolizing the continuation of the dynasty and its power. The male figure was stolen in the late 1960s and sold to private collections in the United States, and in 1974 its return sparked a lively celebration across Cameroon. The uniqueness of this work is also reflected in the fact that in the year of the loss of the figure, all the disasters and misfortunes that occurred in Kom were attributed to its absence.
Babanki Tungo's Annual Dance: The Emergence of a Military Society in cameroon's North-West Province
In many parts of the Cameroonian steppe, the annual dance is one of the social and religious highlights of the year, highlighting the unity and peace of society. It is held at the beginning of the dry season, usually during Christmas. All men and women were involved, and all those who emigrated to southern cities returned to their home countries to visit family and friends. The most popular were demonstrations in military societies, where fighters shot with their Danish guns. Even the king had joined them, and this was still what king Babanki Tungo had done: he was a young man with glasses on his left.
House of a military community in Mbot, a northwestern province of Cameroon
Although there have been no tribal wars for a long time, the Cameroonian steppe is full of traditional military societies. Usually every village has at least one military community, and almost all adult males are members. Every week they would meet at the barracks, drink palm wine, and discuss community issues. Military societies are now primarily responsible for community work, not for war — for example, the construction of public houses, roads and bridges. The army houses were much larger than the ordinary houses, and their walls were not covered with clay. They had two doors, one for "officers" and one for civilians. Typical of these houses are also the pillars, which are decorated with images of people and animals, like the pillars of the main building of the palace. Typical representations of these houses are also pillars, which are decorated with figures of people and animals, like the pillars of the main palace building. Military groups are entitled to this privilege because "they are the people", or in other words, they represent the people. Secret societies composed of ordinary families do not have this right.
Kibarankoh at a commemorative ceremony for the late King Oku at The Okul Palace in Cameroon
One of the most frightening masks in the cameroonian steppe is Nkock from the secret organization Kwifon, known in the Eastern Kingdom as Nwerong. Encock, dressed in a black costume, was so dangerous and powerful that the two medicine men had to pull it with a rope, or it might escape and harm humans. Whenever Nkock appeared in public (usually at death ceremonies), it demonstrated the unlimited power of Kwifon, which had once formed a traditional government with the king. Kibarankoh, the unique name of Nkock, was so powerful that King Oku hesitated to allow him to appear.
Death ceremony for the late king at the Oku Palace: the appearance of two Mabuh masks from Cameroon
Kwifon's mask Mabuh is one of the most famous masks in the steppe of Cameroon. Since the Kwifon was a secret organization and formed a traditional government with the king, its mask was highly respected and well known. Mabuh was its "running" wizard, which buried the dead of Kwifon and was often seen in public. In the past, Mabu was used to execute criminals, especially witches. In all the steppe kingdoms, Mabu wears a headdress in the shape of a human head, and his clothes are also distinctive—they are made of feathers.
A Nokang at a death ceremony in a palace in Oku, northwestern Cameroon
The Nokangse is the most basic and important property of all Kwifon communities and is therefore well known in the steppes of Cameroon. Nokangse is not a "real" mask: the faces of the Kwifon members are simply covered up in clay. They were dressed in leaves, plants, fur, leather and everything possible. Nokangse appeared in a very large number of people at the death ceremony, with more than 30 people, and then marched in line around the dance floor. Today, Nokangse acts like fools and beggars who have the right to laugh at everyone and everything. In the past, however, they were spies, trying to figure out the enemy's plans. Nokangse has eight portraits that appear only at the king's death ceremony. Otherwise, they will only use two of them. However, they are one of Kwifon's most important targets.
At a death ceremony in Mboh Oku, northwestern Cameroon, a mask society waited to dance
Masks are the most important and popular phenomenon in cameroon's steppe. In addition to the "evil" sorcery activated by dangerous "drugs", there are about 70 mask societies in Oku alone, which are the property of different families. Each mask set consists of about 10 to 20 individual masks. Two of them are their "leaders", the first is usually a mask with a human face, the last one is an elephant or a large bush cow, and the other masks are either humanoid (women, people carrying baskets, warriors, big men, old men, etc.) or animal -- (sheep, birds, bats, monkeys, etc.). These masks simply dance during death rituals and do not represent ancestors or souls. Masks were created by ancestors to protect and benefit humanity, and masks are just masks.
Akam (Leader Mask) at the death ceremony in Jinkfin Kom, a northwestern province of Cameroon
In the steppe of Cameroon, the most important masks are more or less leader masks, called kam, akam, or something similar. The mask usually wears a headdress of a male head shape, and the hair and whiskers of the headdress are usually made of real hair, denim, etc. It is dressed very specially because it is trimmed with the hair of its own members of the secret society. Leader masks are already "evil" spells, as they are sometimes treated with dangerous "drugs" and often wear "medical" items on their clothes. This mask wears a "medical" ribbon. Therefore, most of them can only be worn by doctors of the Mask Society.
Dance of the Mask Society at the death ceremony of Mboh Oku in the northwestern province of Cameroon
The dance of the Mask Society is held in the compound of the head of the family who presides over the ceremony. In the center of the courtyard were musical instruments, xylophones, drums, sewing drums, etc., masks dancing around, and then there were hundreds of onlookers. The mask in the foreground of the photo is of a "running" monkey-shaped wizard with two sticks in his hand. The wizards who run during the funeral represent the entire mask society and have other functions. Another mask is the elephant, which was the last leader mask of this group. Dancers look in through the nets covering their faces, while the headdress is worn on their heads like hats.
At the death ceremony of Mboh Oku in the northwestern province of Cameroon, the "evil" wizard Samba
These masks are individual, activated by dangerous "drugs". The function of these masks is to detect and destroy wizards, although they also appear in death ceremonies for their own dead members. "Evil" shamans usually do not wear the famous intricately carved headdresses of the Cameroonian steppe, but only feather hats made of textiles and other materials. They are not considered "beautiful" at all, on the contrary repulsive and dangerous. This photograph shows Samba, a mask used in ancient military expeditions. Especially in the eastern steppes, it is well known. "Evil" wizards are often unpredictable, and even their own members must be cautious, as the pictures demonstrate.
A "running" wizard at a funeral in Ngashie Oku province of northwestern Cameroon
When (in the background) the grave is excavated and a military society is commemorating the dead member and saying goodbye to him by singing a special song, a "running" wizard appears. It is one of the "running" wizards of all the Mask Society, of which the dead are members whose duty is to celebrate his death. At funerals, the Mask Society can only be represented by their "running" wizards. Most of these masks wear monkey headdresses and hold two sticks in their hands. Since these masks often have to travel very long distances, their headdresses are small and light. Burials often require "medical" rituals, so women are excluded. In this photo, the woman can view from a certain distance.
A carver in Ngashie Oku, a province in northwestern Cameroon
Anywhere in cameroon's steppe, you'll find people who can carve stools and other everyday items. However, for the carving of masks and royal objects, there were specialized sculptors. These people usually have more or less structured higher education that can last for about three years. Not all kingdoms have masters; the centers of the carvings are only Kom, Big Babanki, Babanki Tungo, and Oku. This young carver from the village of Ngashie is making a basket mask, which takes about four days to complete, and blackens it with fire and blazing iron rods. Even today, non-practitioners are not allowed to see wizarding secrets, so the carving of masks takes place near wizarding houses, which is strictly forbidden for all outsiders, especially women.
Regarding the magical continent of Africa, there are still many undisclosed and undiscovered secrets, due to differences in cultural regions, there are few in-depth introductions to African tribes and their traditional culture in China, and we have been searching for more and deeper relevant information, which will be released after collation to facilitate people who like African culture and art to understand.
We have also been shipping some traditional African wood carving works back to China through better channels, providing them to collectors, welcome to consult.
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