A ritual hat from the Masousoum chiefdom in the Sultanate of Foumban, Cameroon. A wooden animal head rises from a basketwork base that is set with amulets.

1. Form and Amulets

According to the collection catalogue, a wooden animal head protrudes from the top of the basketwork. It is a mythical creature, most likely a predatory cat, with extremely martial and frightening facial features.

The basketwork is decorated with many gris-gris, that is, amulets. The catalogue lists small figures, miniature masks, fruit capsules and so-called power bags among them.

2. Use and Meaning

The hat belonged to ritual specialists, whom the catalogue names as fetishists, magicians or medicine men. The attached amulets give the wearer the strength needed to carry out his rituals. The feline head stands for the violence inherent in the person who wears the hat. In the catalogue's account, the members of the community cannot defend themselves against it and must submit to the wearer's spell.

Provenance

Masousoum chiefdom, Sultanate of Foumban, Cameroon.

Summary

A Bamum ritual hat in which a wooden predatory-cat head rises from amulet-laden basketwork, a headdress that the collection catalogue ties to the strength and menace of the ritual specialist who wore it.