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BAMUN ART AND CULTURE.   Term Paper ID:30299 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses aesthetic sophistication of Bamun peoples of Fumban (historical capital of Bamun Kingdom) in Cameroon.... More...

3 Pages / 675 Words 4 sources, 9 Citations, MLA Format $12.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Discusses aesthetic sophistication of Bamun peoples of Fumban (historical capital of Bamun Kingdom) in Cameroon. Social and culture complexity of the people. Linguistic diversity. History of the various ethnic groups. Religioius beliefs & influence of European Missions & Colonization. Artwork. Works of Bamun artisans (Carving, weaving, embroidery, metalworking, leatherworking, pottery). Paper Introduction: This paper takes as its point of departure a figure standing 63 inches tall crafted of wood, textile, glass beads, cowrie shells and brass in the late 19th century by the Bamum peoples of Fumban in the Grassfields region of Cameroon (85-8-1, gift of Evelyn A.J. Hall and John Friede, on display at the National Museum of African Art). The complex symbolism and beautiful artisanship of this piece provide a sense of the social and cultural complexity of this people and the aesthetic sophistication of the group. Cameroon is often described as a "racial crossroads" because of its more than 200 different ethnic groups, although this linguistic wealth can in fact be simplified to some extent because almost all of the languages can be divided into three main linguistic groups: the Bantu-speaking people of the south, the S Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. His palace contained 3 looms and six dye pits withdifferent colors, some of the dyes for which Njoya himself discovered (Lesdessins bamum). About one-quarter of the population continue to adhere to traditionalreligious beliefs. This paper takes as its point of departure a figure standing 63 inchestall crafted of wood, textile, glass beads, cowrie shells and brass in thelate 19th century by the Bamum peoples of Fumban in the Grassfields regionof Cameroon (85-8-1, gift of Evelyn A.J. The 16th mfon, Njoya (who reigned c. Works CitedBarley, Nigel. Foumbam is the historic capital of the Bamum kingdom, has forcenturies the most important center for artisans in northwestern Cameroon.Here generations of Bamum artists have come to work and to sell such piecesas the beaded figure now at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. They are in origin a WestAfrican people who speak a language that is often used as a lingua francain the region and belongs to the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congofamily. Their kingdom, with its capital at Foumban in the high westerngrasslands of Cameroon, is ruled over by a king (mfon) whose position ishereditary within one of the exogamous patrilineal lineages. The Voyage of King Njoya's Gift: A Beaded Sculpture from the Bamum Kingdom, Cameroon, in the National Museum of African Art. Amsterdam: F. It may be only a fanciful andpost priori sort of interpretation, but the figure that we are discussingdoes have about it a rather bellicose expression that seems to representthe Bamum's need and determination to defend themselves. Hall and John Friede, on displayat the National Museum of African Art). Manyof those who have formally accepted Western religions continue also topractice the traditional religions, and this syncretism of the populationas well as its strong hold on old beliefs can be seen in this figure, whichmost certainly does not abide by Moslem proscriptions against any figureappearing in artworks (Les dessins bamun). It is the Bamum who perform what in many cultures are considered to bewomen's forms of artistic expression, including embroidery and weaving,although they also engage in the traditionally male artisanal forms ofleatherworking, wood carving, ivory carving, metalworking, andblacksmithing. London: Waveland, 2 .Geary, Christraud. Familiar with writing in Arabic scriptfrom his contact with the Fulani and Hausa peoples, Njoya in about 1895invented a system of writing. The 11th mfon, Mbuembue, was the first to enlarge the kingdom, and,following an attack by the Fulani in the early 19th century, he fortifiedFoumban with a surrounding wall and ditch. The Innocent Anthropologist: Notes from a Mud Hut. Other western Semi-Bantu-speaking tribes include theTikar, who live in the Bamenda region and in the western high plateau(Barley 41). Marseilles: Musee de Marseilles, 1988. More than two-fifths of the population are Christian,mainly Roman Catholic. It is quitelikely from his time that this figure dates, suggested not only by itsdesignation as a 19th century piece but also by the quality of the beadworkand perhaps even more by the intense and beautifully balanced use of colorson the figure. Much of the reason for this linguistic diversity stems from the factthat the current inhabitant of Cameroon came originally from so manydifferent places. Muslims comprise one-fifth of the population. Njoya built a beautiful new palace, established what was in effect amuseum, and was a patron of beadworkers, brass casters, weavers, dyers, andother artisans. Beginning with 51 pictographic characters,he repeatedly revised it until he transformed it into a syllabary of 83characters plus 1 numerals. Things of the palace : a catalogue of the Bamum Palace Museum in Foumban (Cameroon). The mfon ruleswith the help of his queen mother (na) (Geary 61b). The Bantu speakers settled in the Cameroon fromequatorial Africa, coming in a series of waves: the Maka, Ndjem, the Duala,and then at the beginning of the 19th century by the Fang (Pangwe) and Betipeoples (Barley p. 1895-1923), became the mostcelebrated of all the Bamum kings. During the colonial era German was the official languagealthough it was later replaced by English and French, both of which haveretained their official status. The Sudanic-speaking peoples include the Sao, who live on the AdamawaPlateau; the Fulani; and the Kanuri. The oldest inhabitants of the country are the Pygmies, locally knownas the Baguielli and Babinga, who live in the southern forests where theyhave for thousands of years lived in small bands and survived as foodcollectors (Barley 43). Thethird ethnic group consists mainly of small tribes, except for the Bantu-related Bamileke, who live between the lower slopes of the Adamawa Plateauand Mount Cameroon. European missions and colonization led to the introduction of Europeanlanguages. The complex symbolism and beautifulartisanship of this piece provide a sense of the social and culturalcomplexity of this people and the aesthetic sophistication of the group. Both scholars and the Bamum themselves believe that the first mfon andhis followers came from the territory of the neighboring Tikar people earlyin the 18th century. The arts flourished under his royal patronage. Cameroon is often described as a "racial crossroads" because of itsmore than 2 different ethnic groups, although this linguistic wealth canin fact be simplified to some extent because almost all of the languagescan be divided into three main linguistic groups: the Bantu-speaking peopleof the south, the Sudanic-speaking people of the north, and those who speakthe Semi-Bantu languages of the west (Geary 21a). Steiner Verlag, 1982.Geary, Christraud. Seattle: University of Washington, 1987.Les dessins bamum. The Bamoun or Bamum (and sometimes also Mum) are a minority groupwithin the country, and as such have most certainly been influenced by thelarger and more powerful cultures around them. Settling among the Bamileke people and among otherTikar, Nchare proclaimed himself the first mfon and established his palaceat Foumban (Barley 52). 38). With the help of his scribes Njoya alsoprepared a book on the history and customs of the Bamum, mapped hiscountry, wrote a religious book, and a book on medicine and localpharmacopoeia and in 1912 he established the first of 47 schools to teachthe Bamum reading and writing (Barley 74). The Fulani came from the Niger basinin two waves, in the 11th and 19th centuries; they were Muslims whoconverted and subjugated the peoples of the several riverine valleys. The women alone make pottery (Barley 79). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.