Royal Kingdom Of Bamoun Cameroon Bronze Double Alligator Head. for Sale

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Royal Kingdom Of Bamoun Cameroon Bronze Double Alligator Head. For Sale

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Royal Kingdom Of Bamoun Cameroon Bronze Double Alligator Head.:
$1500.00

Royal Kingdom Of Bamoun Cameroon Bronze Double Alligator Head..

22 inches high

17 inches wide

BAMOUN BAMUN BRONZE MASK

Although the IFE bronzes are very well known, we must not forget the ancestral art of bronze by the Bamoun ethnic group.

Today, they are highly sought after pieces, like this mask, adorned during ceremonies at the Sultan\'s Palace .( View the photo)

A little history ,

In 1907, European missionaries discovered that the young king Njoya, king of the Bamoun, had created a writing.

They say that, having seen a Koran, Njoya wanted not only to invent a way of recording the words, but also to spread the writing so that it is accessible to all.

The royal writing (or Bamoun writing), which initially counted more than 500 signs, underwent several changes until 1918.

The simplification - and in particular the reduction of the number of signs to 80 characters - ensured a better diffusion of the writing and brought about the increase of the texts written with the royal writing, which was taught in the schools. Njoya established a civil registry office to register births and marriages.

The judgments of the royal court were also recorded in writing.

The book of history, laws and traditions of the Bamouns, which has more than 1,100 pages, is then written using royal writing. Its replica is currently in the Pitt-Rivers museum in Oxford.

During his tour of the country, the king imposed new laws and amended much of the customary laws, abolishing certain privileges. He also invented a religion inspired by both Islam and Christianity.

After the departure of the German colonists, the French administrators will deprive Njoya of his traditional powers around 1924-1925. He was exiled to Yaoundé in 1931 where he died two years later.

The French administration then prohibited the use of the Bamoun script, which gradually ceased to be used.