A portal from a Mambila men's house, said by the heirs of its former owner to come from the area of the Matam chiefdom. It is decorated with figures.

1. The Figures

The collection catalogue notes that the figures show the posture typical of the Mambila and very expressive facial features. It suggests that the portal stood inside the house rather than at its entrance.

2. The Men's House

According to the catalogue, men's houses are the social centre of the strictly hierarchical community of men, and women of any rank are barred from entering them. For comparison, the catalogue recalls an invitation to a men's house at a funeral celebration in the village of Oku in the Cameroon grassland. There the gathering consisted largely of drinking palm wine, scooped from large clay vessels with cut cow horns decorated in relief.

The catalogue assumes that gatherings in the Matam men's house took place in a similar way. The portal belonged to this setting, in which men met among themselves.

Provenance

From the estate of Amidou Kouandou (died 2014), Grand Imam and notable of ministerial rank in the Sultanate of Foumban, Cameroon. According to the heirs, the men's house stood in the area of the Matam chiefdom.

Summary

A Mambila men's house portal with expressively carved figures in the typical Mambila posture, probably set up inside the house, which the heirs of its former owner place in the Matam chiefdom.