Two posts from a men's house in the Mamaroum chiefdom, Sultanate of Foumban, Cameroon. The taller measures 230 cm. The collection catalogue records them in wood and clay.

1. The Men's House

In the collection catalogue, the men's house stands at the centre of social and ritual life for the men of the community. Only initiated men may enter, as members of an association resembling a secret society. Such buildings are usually larger than ordinary huts, and their entrances are marked by carved, sometimes richly ornamented posts.

2. Inside the House

According to the catalogue, the interior holds ancestor figures, masquerade garments and ritual objects that women may not see, among them masks, carved load-bearing pillars and fireplaces where contact with the ancestors is made. Large clay pots also stand there, used in almost every ritual; palm wine is drunk from them with calabash cups.

3. The Posts

The pair comes from the Mamaroum chiefdom, one of the chiefdoms of the Sultanate of Foumban. The taller post is 230 cm high, the second about 150 cm. As architectural elements of a men's house, they belong to the setting the catalogue describes: the threshold between the community and the men's ritual space.

Summary

Two carved posts from a men's house in the Mamaroum chiefdom, the taller 230 cm high, belonging to the ritual architecture of a Bamum men's society.