Ritual & language· Fang
Mvet
Fang epic-poetry tradition. A bard-singer accompanies himself on a stick-zither also called *mvet*.
The mvet is both the lute-zither (a curved stick over a calabash resonator) and the entire epic-poetry tradition built around it. The mbomo-mvet (master singer) recites the great cycle of Engong, the mythic city of the immortals, across hours of performance — accompanied by the mvet, hand-claps, and the ndingo (small percussion bow).
Objects in the archive: occasional carved mvet zithers; far more common are the figures and headrests associated with the bard-traveller circuit across Fang country.