240910 - Traditional Rare Bamileke dance sword - Cameroon.
Very rare dance sword in its original scabbard of the Bamileke from Cameroon.
The sword is made from black iron with a bonzen wickerwork hilt.
Swords of the Bamileke are often offered without scabbard.
The size are 71 cm high and 34 cm widest point.
This Bamileke sword is from the mid of the 20th century and purchased, 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