Exceptional size for this tribal sculpture, worn horizontally, the volume of the large concave ears is fairly balanced by the rounding of the horns that join the trunk. The dancers of the Kuosi society to which the nobles and warriors belonged, mimicmed during the choreography the charge of the animal . The surface has a dark brown patina, smooth and velvety, eyes surrounded by white kaolin. The Babanki live in the northern part of the region called Cameroonian Grasslands . Their neighbours are the Kom, Wum and Bali. Under the influence of the Fulani invaders, many of them converted to Islam. They revered the ancestors who would incarnate in the skulls held by the elders of each lineage. Grasslands brotherhoods use zoomorphic masks, some decorated with beads, called buffalo masks, and beaded hoods that also represent the elephant. The elders would indeed be endowed with the power to transform themselves into animals. In some lyings however, this mask is replaced by the wooden elephant mask. A symbol of the Fon's prestige, these sculptures were also trodden and present throughout this cultural area. The tusks of the pachyderm were exclusively the chiefs. (Animal, Dapper Museum)
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