Mambila "Tadep" Figure, Cameroon PROVENANCE

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  • Mambila "Tadep" Statue, Cameroon PROVENANCE
  • This Mambila Tadep Figure comes from eastern Nigeria and western Cameroon. It serves as an abode for Ancestral Spirits and is normally kept on a Family Altar at a Ritual Experts Hut (Suaga).
  • These Suaga Shrines hold the masks, costumes, and medicines used by the Suaga Society, which continues to organize biannual performances to protect the Village from harm and serves as a forum for arbitration of community disputes. The Shrine is modeled on the shape of a Granary, a structure raised off the ground on stilts to keep away pests and built with a steeply pitched roof to keep the interior dry, but Shrines are easily distinguishable from actual granaries because they lack a fire pit. Larger shrines also have a mural on the outer wall depicting a man and woman standing under a rainbow. Before they fell out of favor, smaller wooden and raffia-pith figures were suspended in a net over the mural in male and female pairs. Smaller figures were visible to anyone visiting the family compound, but larger sculptures like this one were kept inside.
  • The Mambila are peaceful agricultural peoples governed by their Elders. They extensively celebrate planting and harvest seasons. The Mambila believed that their Ancestral Spirits could influence planting seasons and harvests and therefore lavishly pampered these Figures with offerings and libations, which over the generations have formed several coats of encrustations.
  • The Tadep Guardian Figure serves as a protective presence and intermediary between the Human and Spiritual Realms, believed to possess Supernatural Powers. During Ceremonies, it plays a vital role, symbolizing fertility, prosperity, and protection. 
  • This expressive Mambila "Tadep" Figure of significant size, made of mid-density wood with multiple layers of Ritual Patina and Clay Paint making a partially crusty, surface. The eyes, accentuated with red and white pigment, add to its haunting presence.
  • Measurements:  49.5cm
  • Condition: Good; some old, nearly invisible repairs.
  • PROVENANCE: Ex. German collection, Johannes Engels, Cologne
  • PROVENANCE: Ex. German collection, H. Tirtey, Cologne
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