240640 - Traditional Rare Bamileke dance shield - Cameroon.

240640 - Traditional Rare Bamileke dance shield - Cameroon.
€245.00

Traditional Rare Bamileke dance shield - Cameroon
Hand made from braided reed, the size are 81 cm high and 36 cm wide.
This Bamileke shield is from the mid of the 20th century and purchased in my private collection in 2003, with a certificate of authenticity.
The Bamiléké are a group of 90 closely related peoples who inhabit the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. According to Dr John Feyou de Hapy, Bamiléké means people of faith.The Grassfields people do not refer to themselves as Bamileke but instead use the names of the individual kingdoms to which they belong or else refer to themselves as "Ngrafi" for “grassfields people"See dancers of Kuosi Society wearing this kind of hat in Michel Huet THE DANCES OF AFRICA, p. 144