The shifting iconography of drinking horns in the Western Grassfields, Cameroon

Abstract

This paper examines the shifting iconography and iconology of the buffalo and cow horn drinking cup in the western Grassfields of Cameroon. It highlights the extraordinary creativity of how cow horn drinking cups have provided young people who were previously denied the opportunity of using objects of status to associate with the new aesthetic practices. By examining the fascination in cow horn drinking cups decorated with Bruce Lee’s facial image, this paper will show that successful youth who acquire such items have become the embodiments of a new iconography and iconology for the western Grassfields. More importantly, the study will demonstrate how these emerging youths, who are neither royals nor elites have reverse to their advantage the traditional iconography and iconology that was typical of the region and that was restricted to royals and elites.

Keywords:

• iconography
• iconology
• Cameroon Grassfields
• buffalo
• cow
• Bruce Lee

Public Interest Statement

The changing nature of drinking horns in the western Grassfields of Cameroon provides an opportunity to understand the material culture of success and power in the region. This paper highlights the extraordinary creativity of how drinking vessels have provided young and previously disadvantaged men and women the opportunity of making their voice heard in the wider Grassfields community. The paper demonstrates that through the reinvention of traditional Grassfields symbols, such as the buffalo horn drinking cup that is now comparable to cow horn drinking cups decorated with the facial image of Bruce Lee, young men and women have created a new, attractive, and compelling idea of what it means to be a youth and an elite in present day Grassfields. Through their creativity, they have reverse to their advantage the traditional symbol of the buffalo horn drinking cup that was typical of the region's traditional elites and restricted from youth.

Notes

1. Royal as used here, refers not only to the king, or fon in the western Grassfields of Cameroon, but it also extends to other members of the royal family, including: princes, notables and heads of village institutions. The use of the term royal also extends to those who have been empowered through the award of titles by the fon to the level of titleholders. It is meant to distinguish this category of elites from the youth who are reinventing new aesthetics as a means of empowering themselves.

2. Bambui is one of the many kingdoms or villages across the western Grassfields and it is from Bambui that most of the examples are drawn

3. The Bamenda Art Institutions conference was an initiative by major art institutions in the Bamenda region of Cameroon, including Bamenda Handicraft Cooperative Society, Mankon and Bafut Palace Museums. The conference brought together representatives from these institutions as well as from the art, culture and heritage sectors across the region. The aim was to assess the state art and museum collections in these institutions and to determine the way forward.

4. The buffalo horn drinking cup is considered ideal because it is used in pouring libation to the ancestors and deities on the kingdoms of the Cameroon Grassfields. Cow horn drinking cups that have been initiated or empowered through rituals can also be used for this purpose. The use of these objects is based on the premise that ancestors and deities have control over their living kinsmen (Kopytoff, 1997).

5. Kopytoff (1997) has highlighted the ambivalent relationship between ancestors and their living kinsmen.

6. Grassfields sculpture with iconographic designs such as the leopard, python, elephant, lion, spider and buffalo were reserved for kings and their notables or elites (Geary, 1981, p. 32).

7. Pa Agang, personal communication, December 2015.

8. Across the Cameroon, and the Cameroon Grassfields, in particular, it is taboo for a woman to eat a gizzard. In ordinary parlance it is a 'male thing' and, hence, it symbolizes honour. So when a woman slaughters a chicken, if the husband does not see the gizzard in his dish, he will reject the meal (Fowler & Zeitlyn, 1996).

9. Uncle Njongu, personal communication, December 2015.

10. Mr Ajunga, personal communication, December 2015.

11. Pa Ajom, personal communication, December 2004.

12. Interview: Adanghoh, December 2015.

13. Interview: Peter Nkoh, December 2015.

14. Mr Che, personal communication, December 2004.

15. Mr Anangha, personal communication, December 2015.

16. Pa Nanghoh, personal communication, August 2013.

17. Mr Athanilius, personal communication, August 2013.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mathias Fubah Alubafi

Mathias Fubah Alubafi’s research interest and expertise is in traditional and contemporary African art, in particular involving transformation of the traditional art scene. His recent work focused on anti-hegemonic iconographies and was based on case studies conducted in the Cameroon Grassfields and South Africa. Mathias Fubah’s interest also extends to social factors relating to HIV/AIDS and issues associated with alternative rural livelihoods. He is a reviewer for African Studies Review, International Migration, SAHARA-J: Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Imbizo: International Journal of African Literary and Comparative Studies, among others. He has recently completed a major project (in which he was the Principal Investigator) focusing on historical statues and monuments in South Africa.

Molemo Ramphalile

Molemo Ramphalile is a researcher in the Human Social Development unit at the Human Sciences Research Council. His broad interests include Cultural Studies, Feminist Theory, and Critical Race Theories.