The Fang tribes of Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea carved polished wooden statues, used in ancestor worship, that are fiercely enigmatic and were said to possess certain powers. Manipulation of these naked female and male figures was believed to resuscitate the dead. French ethnologist Perrois and Spanish art historian Delage set these statues in the context of Fang religion, which includes secret initiation societies, witchcraft and ritual sacrifice. They discuss the Fangs' migrations from savannahs to jungles and trace expeditions into West Africa by European explorers and ethnologists from the late 19th century to the 1940s. Also showcased in color and black-and-white illustrations are ceremonial masks, brass collars worn by men and women, and canes in the form of human figures. The book brings to light an art that reached its high point a century ago and has all but disappeared.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
This is an important book about the Fang people by the best researchers on the subject.
The focus is on (1) Fang Art Among The Arts Of Africa (2) Rites And Beliefs : Fang Objects And Synbols (3) The Fang Migrations (4) The Ethnic History Of The Fang (5) The Catalogue Of Objects, including a study of the proportions of Fang Art, The Ntumu Fang, The Okak Fang, and Masks and other objects.
